Author: Dr.S.Harsha Vardhan

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Cutaneous Clues Linked to COVID-19 Coagulation Risk

Skin eruptions could help physicians identify people with severe COVID-19 who are more likely to develop coagulopathies, new evidence suggests.

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine NewYork-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City linked livedoid and purpuric skin eruptions to a greater likelihood for occlusive vascular disease associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in a small case series.

These skin signs could augment coagulation assays in this patient population. “Physicians should consider a hematology consult for potential anticoagulation in patients with these skin presentations and severe COVID-19,” senior author Joanna Harp, MD, told Medscape Medical News.

“Physicians should also consider D-dimer, fibrinogen, coagulation studies, and a skin biopsy given that there are other diagnoses on the differential as well.”

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Weight Loss, Not Fiber Intake Tied to Better HbA1c in DM

In a small, short study of overweight patients with type 2 diabetes, consuming fewer calories resulting in weight loss of around 2 kg was associated with better glycemic control than ingesting more fiber.

But patients with diabetes generally consume much less dietary fiber than guidelines recommend, so these findings should not be interpreted to mean that patients should stop trying to incorporate more fiber into their diet, the researchers caution.

Flavia Tramontana, a PhD student at Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Italy, recently delivered the study findings in an oral presentation during the virtual American Diabetes Association (ADA) 80th Scientific Sessions.

She said the efficacy of increasing dietary fiber intake to ameliorate glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes is still controversial.

So she and her colleagues enrolled 78 patients with type 2 diabetes at their center who all received monthly nutrition counseling about a guideline-recommended lower-calorie, healthy diet.

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