Diabetes patients on a particular class of glucose-lowering drugs called SGLT2i may be at an increased risk for a potentially lethal condition when they contract COVID-19, warns a new study.
Researchers say the condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), can arise when illness prevents cells from receiving enough glucose to fuel their functioning.
The current study, published in the journal The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Clinical Case Reports, cautioned that COVID-19 patients receiving SGLT2i drugs may be at risk of a particular subset of DKA, known as euDKA.
EuDKA occurs when the body's cells fail to absorb enough glucose and compensate by metabolising fats instead, creating a build-up of acids called ketones, the researchers explained.