Objective: In Tunisia, a total confinement was imposed from March 20 until May 4, 2020. The aim of our work was to assess the impact of this 2-month confinement on the clinical and biological profile of diabetic patients hospitalized in diabetology.
Patients and Methods: This is a cross-sectional, observational, descriptive study that involved 110 diabetic patients hospitalized in department A of the National Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology of Tunis (Tunisia) from June 1 until June 30, 2020.
Results : The mean age of the patients was 49.72±11.99years with ranges ranging from 16 to 77 years old; 63.6% of patients were female and 73.6% of patients were type 2. The average duration of diabetes was 11.53±8.62years, with extremes ranging from 0to24 years. The mean level of glycated hemoglobin was 12.03±3.97% and the Body-Mass-Index was 29.44kg/m² with extremes ranging from 16.26to40.19kg/m². Weight gain was reported in 73% of patients with an average of 4.77±1.98kg within 2 months of confinement, with extremes ranging from 2to11kg. Two patients (1.8%) were hospitalized for inaugural diabetic ketosis. The others were admitted for an imbalance(81.8%) or an acute decompensation of their diabetes(16.4%). The factors of imbalance or decompensation were: a poor compliance with hygienic-dietetic measures(90.9%); a medication poor compliance(41.8%), more than half of which(54.3%) was due to the inability of the patient to go to the local health center to obtain his medication; lipodystrophies(42.7% of patients on insulin); a stomatological infection(8.2%); an urinary tract infection(4.5%) and an acute coronary syndrome(0.9%).
Conclusions : The diabetic patient is at high risk of a severe form of Covid-19. However, the confinement imposed by the pandemic seems to be one of the factors of diabetes imbalance (in particular by weight gain and poor adherence to therapy). It is therefore essential to strengthen the education and treatment of diabetic patients.
F. Mahjoub: None. N. Ben Amor: None. O. Berriche: None. H. Jamoussi: None.