AIMWe assessed predictors of in-hospital mortality in people with prediabetes and diabetes hospitalized for COVID-19 infection and developed a risk score for identifying those at the highest risk of a fatal outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODSA combined prospective and retrospective multicenter cohort study was conducted in 10 sites in Austria on 247 people with diabetes or newly diagnosed prediabetes, who were hospitalised for COVID-19. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality and predictor variables at the time of admission included clinical data, comorbidities of diabetes or laboratory data. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify significant predictors and develop a risk score for in-hospital mortality. RESULTSThe mean age of people hospitalized (n=238) for COVID-19 was 71.1 {+/-} 12.9 years, 63.6% were males, 75.6% had type 2 diabetes, 4.6% had type 1 diabetes, and 19.8% had prediabetes. The mean duration of hospital stay was 18 {+/-} 16 days, 23.9% required ventilation therapy, and 24.4% died in the hospital. Mortality rate in people with diabetes was numerically higher (26.7%) as compared to those with prediabetes (14.9%) but without statistical significance (p=0.128). A score including age, arterial occlusive disease, CRP, eGFR and AST levels at admission predicted in-hospital mortality with a C-statistics of 0.889 (95%CI: 0.837 - 0.941) and calibration of 1.000 (p=0.909). CONCLUSIONSThe in-hospital mortality for COVID-19 was high in people with diabetes and not significantly different to the risk in people with prediabetes. A risk score using five routinely available patient parameters demonstrated excellent predictive performance for assessing in-hospital mortality.
Covid-19 fatality prediction in people with diabetes and prediabetes using a simple score at hospital admission