The effect of the Covid-19 shutdown on glycemic testing and control

Anu Sharma; Dina N Greene; Allison B Chambliss; Christopher W Farnsworth; Deborah French; Daniel S Herman; Peter A Kavsak; Anna E Merrill; Sheng-Ying (Margaret) Lo; Martha E Lyon; Gabrielle Winston-McPherson; Lauren N Pearson; Jeffrey A SoRelle; Avantika C Waring; Robert L Schmidt

doi:10.1016/j.cca.2021.04.018

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The effect of the Covid-19 shutdown on glycemic testing and control

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

The effect of the Covid-19 shutdown on glycemic testing and control

Anu Sharma, Dina N Greene, Allison B Chambliss, Christopher W Farnsworth, Deborah French, Daniel S Herman, Peter A Kavsak, Anna E Merrill, Sheng-Ying (Margaret) Lo, Martha E Lyon, …

Clinica chimica acta, Vol.519, pp.148-152

08/2021

DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2021.04.018

PMID: 33932408

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Abstract

•Access to healthcare was restricted in the covid-19 pandemic. The impact is unknown.•HbA1c testing volumes decreased in the early phase of the pandemic.•The decrease in testing was associated with an increase in abnormal HbA1c results.•Abnormal results increased by 0.3% for every 1% decrease in HbA1c testing. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused a halt to in-person ambulatory care. We evaluated how the reduction in access to care affected HbA1c testing and patient HbA1c levels. HbA1c data from 11 institutions were extracted to compare testing volume and the percentage of abnormal results between a pre-pandemic period (January-June 2019, period 1) and a portion of the COVID-19 pandemic period (Jan-June 2020, period 2). HbA1c results greater than 6.4% were categorized as abnormal. HbA1C testing volumes decreased in March, April and May by 23, 61 and 40% relative to the corresponding months in 2019. The percentage of abnormal results increased in April, May and June (25, 23, 9%). On average, we found that the frequency of abnormal results increased by 0.31% for every 1% decrease in testing volume (p < 0.0005). HbA1c testing volume for outpatients decreased by up to 70% during the early months of the pandemic. The decrease in testing was associated with an increase in abnormal HbA1c results.

Covid-19

Glycemic control

HbA1c

Details

Title: Subtitle: The effect of the Covid-19 shutdown on glycemic testing and control
Creators: Anu Sharma - University of Utah
Dina N Greene - Kaiser Permanente
Allison B Chambliss - University of Southern California
Christopher W Farnsworth - Washington University in St. Louis
Deborah French - University of California, San Francisco
Daniel S Herman - University of Pennsylvania
Peter A Kavsak - McMaster University
Anna E Merrill - University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Sheng-Ying (Margaret) Lo - Geisinger Health, Danville, PA, United States
Martha E Lyon - Saskatchewan Health
Gabrielle Winston-McPherson - Henry Ford Health System
Lauren N Pearson - University of Utah
Jeffrey A SoRelle - Southwestern Medical Center
Avantika C Waring - Kaiser Permanente
Robert L Schmidt - University of Utah
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Clinica chimica acta, Vol.519, pp.148-152
DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2021.04.018
PMID: 33932408
NLM abbreviation: Clin Chim Acta
ISSN: 0009-8981
eISSN: 1873-3492
Publisher: Elsevier B.V
Language: English
Date published: 08/2021
Academic Unit: Pathology; Injury Prevention Research Center
Record Identifier: 9984186504102771

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