Risks associated with acute pancreatitis (AP) with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in COVID-19 patients: a literature review

Abstract

Background: SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) has become a global pandemic, and medical experts are scrambling to understand the wide range of symptoms and consequences of the virus. Although acute pancreatitis (AP) and pancreatic damage have been associated with SARS-CoV-2, the mechanism behind this is still unclear. The current article explores whether COVID-19 is an additional cause of AP and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). The article illustrates the conditions associated with AP and DKA among COVID-19 patients and diabetes mellitus (DM). Another critical condition is acute kidney injury (AKI), often associated with DKA.

Methods: A search strategy for the article was assigned and retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases from 2020 to June 2022. The articles which discussed case studies on AP, DKA, and AKI were included in the study.

Results: The present review of 24 reported case studies represented conditions of AP (12), DKA (5), AP and DKA (5), AP and AKI (1), and DKA and AKI (1) among COVID-19 participants, and showed a potential relationship between the complications.

Conclusion: Healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic plays a major role among AP, DKA, and AKI-associated COVID-19 patients. A compilation of case studies suggests effective management of COVID-19 infection-related complications such as AP, DKA, and AKI.

Keywords: Acute kidney injury; Acute pancreatitis; COVID-19; Diabetes; Diabetic ketoacidosis; Healthcare; SARS coronavirus.

Fig. 1

Schematic mechanism in patients with severe COVID-19 with comorbidities leading to acute pancreatitis (AP), diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and acute kidney injury (AKI)