Abstract #1153925: Dexamethasone Use and Insulin Requirements in Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) Infection

Glucocorticoid-Induced Hyperglycemia Including Dexamethasone-Associated Hyperglycemia in COVID-19 Infection: A Systematic Review

“…The authors comment that their starting dose of glargine may have been too low out of concern for reduced patient contact and to consider using 0.2 units/kg/day [62]. In our experience, weight-based insulin requirements for dexamethasone hyperglycemia in COVID-19 can be considerably higher than traditional dosing formulas and may positively correlate with HbA1c [63]. A retrospective study performed in the first pandemic wave found that type 2 DM patients with DKA and COVID-19 required a significantly larger cumulative insulin dose, longer time, and higher weightbased insulin infusion dose to achieve DKA resolution versus non-COVID-19 patients [64].…”