Elevated Blood Glucose in COVID-19 Patients: An explorative Study

ABSTRACT Background Since the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic in 2019, scientific studies have not stopped to understand the mechanism of several disorders that occurred in patients who were infected with the COVID-19 virus, among these disorders, the most important of which is high blood glucose because of its impact on human health. This study aimed to identify the association between blood glucose concentration and some biochemical variables that lead to high blood glucose in people infected with Covid-19 virus. Methods This study was conducted on 100 samples of serum of people who were confirmed to be infected with the COVID-19 virus using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology. Samples were collected from the Broccoli Isolation Center, the Respiratory Clinic, and the Sebha Medical Center in Sebha city, Libya. The concentration of glucose, insulin, cortisol, triglycerides, cholesterol, CRP and liver enzyme’s activity was measured. Findings The results showed that 60% of the patients had an increase in blood glucose concentration, and 40% of the patients had a normal glucose concentration. The levels of insulin, cortisol, CRP, triglycerides, and liver enzyme’s activity were compared between the two groups, and the results showed an increase in the mean concentration of cortisol, triglycerides, CRP and liver enzymes in the group of patients with high glucose concentration compared to the group of patients with a normal concentration of glucose, and the statistical analysis using the t-test showed that there were significant differences between the means (P = 0.000), while the mean insulin concentration was lower in the group of patients with elevated glucose level. The results also showed positive correlation between glucose and cortisol, triglycerides, CRP concentration and GPT, GOT activity. Interpretation Patients infected with the COVID-19 virus had elevated blood glucose concentration associated with decrease in their insulin hormone concentration. In addition, high concentration of biochemical variables that contribute to high blood glucose in patients infected with the COVID-19 virus were noticed.