Is subcutaneous insulin administration adequate for the management of hyperglycemic crisis in COVID-19?

Permana, Hikmat; Soetedjo, Nanny Natalia M.

There is a desperate need to explore different insulin administration strategies, particularly in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with hyperglycemic crisis. Noteworthily, diabetes mellitus (DM) and poorly controlled blood glucose increase the risk of mortality and severity of COVID-19. Intravenous (IV) insulin administration with hourly monitoring of blood glucose is the ideal approach in managing patients with hyperglycemic crisis, but it is not judicious to be applied in developing countries where shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) is a major issue. Furthermore, increasing the probability of “already greater risks” for doctors or other healthcare workers contracting COVID-19 seems inappropriate. Thus, an alternative administration strategy and more moderate glucose monitoring to reduce the contact exposure of healthcare workers with COVID-19 patients, by ensuring appropriate blood glucose levels, needs to be performed in this critical pandemic era. Subcutaneous (SC) rapid-acting insulin analog administration could presumably be a solution to this contentious issue.