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Updated: Nov 28, 2025

Improving IV Insulin Administration in a Community Hospital
Published on: June 11, 2012
Insulin Treatment Is Associated with Increased Mortality in Patients with COVID-19 and Type 2 Diabetes
1Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine and Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetics and Molecular Mechanisms of Cardiological Disorders, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
Abstract:
COVID-19 caused by SARS-COV-2 infection can lead to multi-organ injuries and significant mortality in severe and critical patients, especially among those individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) as a comorbidity. While attenuated mortality was observed with aggressive glucose control, it was unclear whether therapeutic regimens including insulin treatment were beneficial for patients with COVID-19 and T2D. This retrospective study investigated 689 patients with COVID-19 and T2D from a cohort of 3,305 cases from Wuhan, China. Unexpectedly, we found that insulin treatment for patients with COVID-19 and T2D was associated with a significant increase in mortality (27.2% versus 3.5%; adjusted HR, 5.38 [2.75-10.54]). Further analysis showed that insulin treatment was associated with enhanced systemic inflammation and aggravated injuries of vital organs. Therefore, insulin treatment for patients with COVID-19 and T2D should be used with caution.
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