COVID SCIENCE UPDATES

Higher blood sugar tied to COVID-19 death risk; Rise in US overdose deaths may have pandemic link

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

High blood sugar tied to COVID-19 risk in non-diabetics

High blood sugar may portend a rocky course for COVID-19 patients who seek hospital care, even if they do not have diabetes, according to a new study of 11,000 COVID-19 patients in Spain.

None were critically ill when they got to the hospital. But researchers found those who arrived with above-normal blood sugar levels had higher odds of dying there - regardless of whether they were diabetic.

Overall, 20% of the patients died while hospitalized, including 16% of individuals with blood sugar below 140 milligrams per deciliter at admission, 34% of those with levels of 140 to 180 mg/dL, and 41% of patients with levels above 180 mg/dL. (A level of 200 mg/dL or higher indicates diabetes.)

After taking age and medical conditions into account, patients with the highest levels were 50% more likely to die in the hospital than patients with the lowest levels.

People with elevated blood sugar were also at higher risk for needing intensive care and mechanical breathing assistance.

In a report published on Tuesday in Annals of Medicine, the researchers say prompt control of blood sugar should be mandatory in the management of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, regardless of whether they have diabetes.

Pandemic may be driving rise in US overdose deaths

The COVID-19 pandemic may be driving a surge in drug-overdose deaths in the United States, researchers say.

Between March and August, the number of overdose-related cardiac arrests peaked at more than double the average in the prior two years, and remained 48.5% higher by the end of the study period, they reported on Thursday in JAMA Psychiatry.

The data are from the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS), a registry of more than 10,000 EMS agencies in 47 states.

The rising trend in cardiac arrests corresponded with a sharp drop in people's mobility, leading the researchers to suggest that increased social isolation during the pandemic may have contributed to the conditions for fatal overdoses.

There are strategies that can help mitigate the mortality associated with drug overdoses even during the pandemic, coauthor Joseph Friedman of the University of California, Los Angeles told Reuters.

"Removing logistical and financial barriers to accessing medications like methadone and buprenorphine is especially important," he said. "Allowing pharmacies to dispense methadone and providing emergency funds to make these medications affordable could make a big difference." -- Reuters