Comparison between D-dimer levels in diabetic and non-diabetic patients with COVID-19

Background and aim: One of the primary goals of medical research during the pandemic was to identify prognostic factors for the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Comorbidity of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and high Ddimer levels have been associated with poor prognosis. The present study aimed to compare the levels of Ddimer in diabetic and non-diabetic patients with COVID-19.Method: After a retrospective review of hospital medical records, the value of plasma D-dimers at the first measurement after hospital admission was recorded from an equal number of diabetic and non-diabetic patients with COVID-19. The total sample numbered 72 patients. Each D-dimer value was then classified as normal or high.Result: 22 diabetic and 13 non-diabetic patients had high D-dimer values. After applying the chi-squared test of independence, it was shown that the comorbidity of DM has a statistically significant and moderate correlation with high D-dimer values (?2(1)= 4.503, p=0.034, V=0.250).Conclusion: High levels of D-dimers tend to occur more frequently in diabetic patients with COVID-19 than in non-diabetics. As already demonstrated in the literature, the comorbidity of DM is probably associated with the formation of clots in patients with COVID-19.