Managing Diabetes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
John Doupis, Konstantinos Avramidis
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected almost every country in the world and has changed the way we access healthcare. People with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, are at high risk of a severe disease course and it is essential that, as well as good hygiene and social distancing measures, blood glucose is carefully monitored, as chronic hyperglycaemia can lead to immune dysfunction. People with diabetes should be encouraged to continue medication prescribed for hypertension, diabetes or dyslipidaemia. Furthermore, patients with diabetes and COVID-19 infection should follow their usual antidiabetic treatment with the exception of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors. As the current pandemic situation has rendered some patients unable to access routine healthcare, telehealth may help those with travel restrictions.