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Common diabetes drug may trigger rare complications for Coronavirus patients, Scientists says

December 29, 2020

Diabetes patients on a particular class of glucose lowering drugs called SGLT2i may be at an increased risk for a potentially lethal condition when they contract COVID-19, warns a new study.

According to researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in the U.S, the condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), can arise when illness prevents cells from receiving enough glucose to fuel their functioning.

The current study, published in the journal The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Clinical case Reports, cautioned that COVID-19 patients receiving SGLT2i drugs may be at risk of a particular subset of DKA, known as euDKA.

EuDKA occurs when the body's cells fail to absorb enough glucose and compensate by metabolising fats instead, creating a build-up of acids called ketones, the researchers explained.

They said EuDKA is characterised by lower blood sugar levels than DKA, adding that it is more difficult to diagnose.

The US FDA had earlier warned that the risk of DKA and euDKA may be increased for individuals who use SGLT2i drugs, which function by releasing excess glucose in the urine.

In the current study, the scientists studied five unusual euDKA cases brought to the diabetes inpatient services within the span of two months at the height of the pandemic in Boston.

They found that the five cases represented a markedly heightened incidence of euDKA compared to that of the previous two years, when inpatient services saw fewer than 10 euDKA cases.