[NFBK] Something to Share Regarding Covid and Diabetic Retinopathy

[Todd Stephens]

Good Morning:

 

This is an intriguing article:

 

Diabetic eye disease associated with five-fold risk of severe COVID-19 by
King's College London Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain People with diabetes
and eye disease have a five-fold increased risk of requiring intubation when
hospitalised with COVID-19. The study, published today in Diabetes Research
and Clinical Practice by King's College London, identified for the first
time the risk associated with diabetic retinopathy and COVID-19. Diabetic
eye disease is a common complication of diabetes and is caused by damage to
the small blood vessels in the eye. In 2014, the prevalence of diabetic
retinopathy was 54.6% in people with Type 1 diabetes and 30.0% in people
with Type 2 diabetes. The study investigated 187 people with diabetes (179
with type 2 diabetes and 8 with type 1 diabetes) hospitalised with COVID-19
at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust between 12th of March and 7th
of April 2020. Diabetic retinopathy was reported in 67 (36%) of patients,
the majority with background retinopathy. Of the 187 patients hospitalised
with severe COVID-19, 26% were intubated and 45% of these patients had
retinopathy. Retinopathy was associated with a five-fold increased risk for
intubation. In the cohort, 32% of patients died and no association was
observed between retinopathy and mortality. First author of the study, Dr.
Antonella Corcillo from the School of Cardiovascular Medicine and Sciences
at King's College London said: "This is the first time that retinopathy has
been linked to severe COVID-19 in people with diabetes. Retinopathy is a
marker of damage to the blood vessels and our results suggest that such
pre-existing damage to blood vessels may result in a more severe COVID-19
infection requiring intensive care treatment. Senior author, Dr. Janaka
Karalliedde from King's College London, said: "There is increasing evidence
that there is significant damage to the blood vessels in the lung and other
organs in patients hospitalised with severe COVID-19. People with diabetes
are at high risk of vascular complications affecting the large and small
blood vessels . "We hypothesise that the presence of diabetes related
vascular disease such as retinopathy may result in greater vulnerability and
susceptibility to respiratory failure in severe COVID-19. Therefore looking
for presence or history of retinopathy or other vascular complications of
diabetes may help health care professionals identify patients at high risk
of severe COVID-19. Further studies are required to investigate the possible
mechanisms that explain the links between markers and manifestations of
diabetic vascular disease such as retinopathy and severe COVID-19. RNIB
Specialist Lead for Eye Health, Dr. Louise Gow said: "RNIB hope this
research will result in greater awareness of those who are most at risk of
serious complications from COVID-19. With vaccine planning underway,
consideration must be given to prioritising people with diabetic retinopathy
. It also highlights that it is vital that information about COVID-19 is
available in formats that are accessible to people with sight loss so that
they know how to protect themselves. Limitations of this study include its
relatively small sample size and that, as it is a cross-sectional study, it
is unable to identify a causal relationship between retinopathy and severe
COVID-19 outcomes. Explore further Afro-Caribbean patients with severe
kidney disease at greater risk of hospitalisation from COVID-19 Provided by
King's College London Citation : Diabetic eye disease associated with
five-fold risk of severe COVID-19 (2020, November 24) retrieved 24 November
2020 from
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-11-diabetic-eye-disease-five-fold-severe
.html
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