1838-PUB: Impact of COVID-19 on New-Onset Pediatric Diabetes Diagnoses

Abstract

Introduction: Global trends show an increased number of pediatric patients with newly diagnosed diabetes who present in severe diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Medical records were reviewed for pediatric patients <18 years of age with new onset diabetes mellitus (DM) diagnosed two years pre-pandemic and two years during the COVID pandemic. Data collected included demographic, biochemical, and hospitalization data. Logistic regression was used to investigate the relationship between BMI, hemoglobin A1c, duration of hospital stay, DKA, and pandemic time frame. Results: A total of 175 cases of new onset DM were diagnosed during the study period; 54% post-pandemic. This represents a 16% increase in incident cases in the post-pandemic period. The sample was 55.4% male, 74.9% White/Caucasian, and 33.1% non-Hispanic. Type 1 DM comprised 136 cases. Inpatient diagnoses were the same in both the pre- and post-pandemic periods, n=75. Outpatient diagnoses during the pandemic period (n=19) were significantly higher than in the pre-pandemic period (n=6), X2(1) = 5.83, p < 0.05. The overall logistic regression model was statistically significant, X2(7) =18.35, p < 0.05. Hemoglobin A1c (p < 0.05, OR = 0.756, 95% CI [0.606, 0.945]) and length of hospital stay (p < 0.05, OR = 0.586, 95% CI [0.381, 0.902]) were significantly different between the two time periods, but BMI percentile (p = 0.869) and bicarbonate levels (p = 0.962) were not. Discussion: There was an increased incidence of new onset DM diagnosed in pediatric patients post-COVID. Surprisingly, outpatient cases accounted for the increased number. This study showed that during the pandemic, patients presented with a higher hemoglobin A1c and stayed longer in the hospital than prior to the pandemic. Disclosure K.Simms: None. S.Green: None. M.Shah: None. M.Sareini: None. C.Chin: None.