Multicentre service evaluation of presentation of newly diagnosed cancers and type 1 diabetes in children in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic

Pediatric COVID-19 and Diabetes: An Investigation into the Intersection of Two Pandemics

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a complex infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and it currently represents a worldwide public health emergency. The pediatric population is less prone to develop severe COVID-19 infection, but children presenting underlying medical conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, are thought to be at increased risk of developing more severe forms of COVID-19. Diabetic children face new challenges when infected with SARS-CoV-2. On one hand, the glycemic values become substantially more difficult to manage as COVID-19 is a predisposing factor for hyperglycemia. On the other hand, alongside other risk factors, high glycemic values are incriminated in modulating immune and inflammatory responses, leading to potentially severe COVID-19 cases in the pediatric population. Also, there are hypotheses of SARS-CoV-2 being diabetogenic itself, but this information is still to be confirmed. Furthermore, it is reported that there was a noticeable increase in the number of cases of new-onset type 2 diabetes among the pediatric population, and the complications in these patients with COVID-19 include the risk of developing autoimmune diseases under the influence of stress. Additionally, children with diabetes mellitus are confronted with lifestyle changes dictated by the pandemic, which can potentially lead to the onset or exacerbation of a potential underlying anxiety disorder or depression. Since the literature contains a series of unknowns related to the impact of COVID-19 in both types of diabetes in children, the purpose of our work is to bring together the data obtained so far and to identify potential knowledge gaps and areas for future investigation regarding COVID-19 and the onset of diabetes type 1 or type 2 among the pediatric population.

Impact of COVID-19 on outpatient appointments in children and young people in England: an observational study

OBJECTIVES

To describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on outpatient appointments for children and young people.

SETTING

All National Health Service (public) hospitals in England.

PARTICIPANTS

All people in England aged <25 years.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Outpatient department attendance numbers, rates and modes (face to face vs telephone) by age group, sex and socioeconomic deprivation.

RESULTS

Compared with the average for January 2017 to December 2019, there was a 3.8 million appointment shortfall (23.5%) for the under-25 population in England between March 2020 and February 2021, despite a total rise in phone appointments of 2.6 million during that time. This was true for each age group, sex and deprivation fifth, but there were smaller decreases in face to face and total appointments for babies under 1 year. For all ages combined, around one in six first and one in four follow-up appointments were by phone in the most recent period. The proportion of appointments attended was high, at over 95% for telephone and over 90% for face-to-face appointments for all ages.

CONCLUSIONS

COVID-19 led to a dramatic fall in total outpatient appointments and a large rise in the proportion of those appointments conducted by telephone. The impact that this has had on patient outcomes is still unknown. The differential impact of COVID-19 on outpatient activity in different sociodemographic groups may also inform design of paediatric outpatient services in the post-COVID period.

The Silent Epidemic of Diabetic Ketoacidosis at Diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents in Italy During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020

AIM/HYPOTHESIS

To compare the frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with the frequency of DKA during 2017-2019.

METHODS

Forty-seven pediatric diabetes centers caring for >90% of young people with diabetes in Italy recruited 4,237 newly diagnosed children with type 1 diabetes between 2017 and 2020 in a longitudinal study. Four subperiods in 2020 were defined based on government-imposed containment measures for COVID-19, and the frequencies of DKA and severe DKA compared with the same periods in 2017-2019.

RESULTS

Overall, the frequency of DKA increased from 35.7% (95%CI, 33.5-36.9) in 2017-2019 to 39.6% (95%CI, 36.7-42.4) in 2020 (p=0.008), while the frequency of severe DKA increased from 10.4% in 2017-2019 (95%CI, 9.4-11.5) to 14.2% in 2020 (95%CI, 12.3-16.4, p<0.001). DKA and severe DKA increased during the early pandemic period by 10.4% (p=0.004) and 8% (p=0.002), respectively, and the increase continued throughout 2020. Immigrant background increased and high household income decreased the probability of presenting with DKA (OR: 1.55; 95%CI, 1.24-1.94; p<0.001 and OR: 0.60; 95 CI, 0.41-0.88; p=0.010, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION

There was an increase in the frequency of DKA and severe DKA in children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with no apparent association with the severity of COVID-19 infection severity or containment measures. There has been a silent outbreak of DKA in children during the pandemic, and preventive action is required to prevent this phenomenon in the event of further generalized lockdowns or future outbreaks.