Learning From COVID-19 and Looking to Technology Ahead

摘要

I have learned a great many things in the last month—not least that diabetes technology is about far more than simply improving in-clinic efficiencies and health outcomes day-to-day. It can also be an invaluable tool during—and even before—times of crisis. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, it is challenging our healthcare systems in a manner that few, if any of us, have seen before. Yet while the majority of attention is being paid to many cases of acute respiratory distress syndrome, nobody had expected that people living with diabetes would face such an elevated threat. Indeed, as a recent US CDC report1 showed, roughly a third of people in the country admitted to ICU with COVID-19 have diabetes. In addition, an early Chinese report found that if a person’s diabetes is well-managed, the risk of them getting severely sick from COVID-19 is about the same as for the general population. This in turn could indicate that poor glycemic control is associated with a higher risk of poor outcomes if contracting COVID-19—which should not be a surprise as glycemic control is considered a marker for how well diabetes is managed.