Blood clots are thought to occur in as many as a third of patients hospitalized with COVID-19. In many cases these clots can be deadly, such as pulmonary embolisms-;blood clots that travel to the lungs. In fact, in nearly one third of patients with COVID-19, these clots led to death.
Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 with high estimated blood viscosity are at higher risk of death from complications. High blood viscosity impairs flow to small vessels and increases the risk of blood clots. This measure of blood thickness can be used as a predictor of mortality.
In a recent study posted to the medRxiv preprint server, researchers assessed the association between diabetes mellitus (type 2 diabetes) and mortality among patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at multiple centers in Canada and Denmark.