Download PDF
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Journal of Diabetes and Endocrine Practice 2022; 05(01): 034-039
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1748670
Original Article

Pediatric Diabetes Services in Arab Countries during the First 6 Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hussain Alsaffar
1   Pediatric Endocrine and Diabetes Unit, Child Health Department, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman
,
Wasnaa H. Abdullah
2   Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Al-Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
,
Khadija A. Hasan 
3   Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain
,
Laila S. Al Yazidi
4   Pediatric Infectious Diseases Unit, Child Health Department, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
Also available at
   Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Introduction The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had an impact on different health services due to the lockdowns, curfews, or reducing provision of some clinical services to infection control.

Aims This study looked at the impact of the pandemic on the pediatric diabetes services in Arab countries during the first 6 months of pandemic.

Methods and Material An online survey using SurveyMonkey was e-mailed to the pediatric endocrine consultants practicing in Arab countries. The survey was active for the last 2 weeks of August 2020.

Results Responses received from 34 consultants. Most responses were from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Oman. 18% of consultants have more than 500 pediatric patients with type-1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) under each of their care. A quarter of responding consultants had suspended their clinics completely during the pandemic period. The median number of children live with diabetes used to be seen in diabetes clinics has dropped significantly from 22 to only 4 patients per week during the pandemic. Half of respondents fed back those virtual clinics were useful. The number of elective and urgent admissions during the studied period were less than before the pandemic. A total of 17.6% of responders reported an increased incidence of Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) during the pandemic. Also, 36.4% thought the research activity had markedly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion The pandemic has led to reducing the number of patients attending the diabetes clinic in Arab countries. However, virtual clinics and tele-consultations emerged evidently during the pandemic. It is expected to continue using the virtual clinics when the pandemic is over.

Keywords

Arab - children - COVID-19 - diabetes - services

Authors' Contributions

H.A. conceptualized the research and designed it. H.A. and W.H.A. did the literature review, H.A. collected the data and analyzed the data with help of W.H.A. and K.A.H. Manuscript was drafted by W.H.A. and edited by H.A. and L.S.A. Final review performed by all authors.


Financial Support and Sponsorship

None.




Publication History

Article published online:
19 July 2022

© 2022. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, India

 

  • References

  • 1 Del Rio C, Malani PN. COVID-19-New insights on a rapidly changing epidemic. JAMA 2020; 323 (14) 1339-1340
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 2 Al-Sofiani ME, Alyusuf EY, Alharthi S, Alguwaihes AM, Al-Khalifah R, Alfadda A. Rapid implementation of a diabetes telemedicine clinic during the coronavirus Disease 2019 outbreak: our protocol, experience, and satisfaction reports in Saudi Arabia. J Diabetes Sci Technol 2021; 15 (02) 329-338
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 3 World Health Organization. Global strategy on human resources for health: workforce 2030. Accessed April 9, 2022 at: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/250368/9789241511131-eng.pdf
  • 4 Garg SK, Rodbard D, Hirsch IB, Forlenza GP. Managing new-onset type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic: challenges and opportunities. Diabetes Technol Ther 2020; 22 (06) 431-439
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 5 Alsaffar H, Almamari W, Al Futaisi A. Telemedicine in the era of COVID-19 and beyond: a new horizon. Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J 2020; 20 (04) e277-e279
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 6 Doshi A, Platt Y, Dressen JR, Mathews BK, Siy JC. Keep calm and log on: Telemedicine for COVID-19 pandemic response. J Hosp Med 2020; 15 (05) 302-304
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 7 Scott SN, Fontana FY, Züger T, Laimer M, Stettler C. Use and perception of telemedicine in people with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic-results of a global survey. Endocrinol Diabetes Metab 2020; 4 (01) e00180
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 8 March CA, Flint A, DeArment D. et al. Paediatric diabetes care during the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learned in scaling up telemedicine services. Endocrinol Diabetes Metab 2020; 4: e00202
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 9 Fisher JR, Tran TD, Hammarberg K. et al. Mental health of people in Australia in the first month of COVID-19 restrictions: a national survey. Med J Aust 2020; 213 (10) 458-464
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 10 Taylor CB, Fitzsimmons-Craft EE, Graham AK. Digital technology can revolutionize mental health services delivery: the COVID-19 crisis as a catalyst for change. Int J Eat Disord 2020; 53 (07) 1155-1157
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 11 Elbarbary NS, Dos Santos TJ, de Beaufort C, Agwu JC, Calliari LE, Scaramuzza AE. COVID-19 outbreak and pediatric diabetes: perceptions of health care professionals worldwide. Pediatr Diabetes 2020; 21 (07) 1083-1092
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 12 Forde R, Arente L, Ausili D. et al; FEND COVID-19 consortium. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with diabetes and diabetes services: a pan-European survey of diabetes specialist nurses undertaken by the Foundation of European Nurses in Diabetes survey consortium. Diabet Med 2021; 38 (05) e14498
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 13 Quigley M, Earnest A, Szwarcbard N, Wischer N, Zoungas S. Impact of COVID-19 on diabetes health care and service provision in Australian diabetes centers. Diabetes Care 2021; 44 (08) e163-e164
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 14 Elbarbary NS, Dos Santos TJ, de Beaufort C, Wiltshire E, Pulungan A, Scaramuzza AE. The challenges of managing pediatric diabetes and other endocrine disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from an international cross-sectional electronic survey. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2021; 12: 735554
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 15 Alaqeel A, Aljuraibah F, Alsuhaibani M. et al. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on the incidence of new-onset type 1 diabetes and ketoacidosis among Saudi children. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2021; 12: 669302
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 16 Haleem A, Javaid M, Vaishya R, Deshmukh SG. Areas of academic research with the impact of COVID-19. Am J Emerg Med 2020; 38 (07) 1524-1526
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 17 Holmes EA, O'Connor RC, Perry VH. et al. Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for action for mental health science. Lancet Psychiatry 2020; 7 (06) 547-560
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 18 Kambhampati SBS, Vaishya R, Vaish A. Unprecedented surge in publications related to COVID-19 in the first three months of pandemic: a bibliometric analytic report. J Clin Orthop Trauma 2020; 11 (Suppl. 03) S304-S306
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 19 Helliwell JA, Bolton WS, Burke JR, Tiernan JP, Jayne DG, Chapman SJ. Global academic response to COVID-19: cross-sectional study. Learn Publ 2020; 33 (04) 385-393
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 20 Lee JJ, Haupt JP. Scientific globalism during a global crisis: research collaboration and open access publications on COVID-19. High Educ 2021; 81 (05) 949-966
    CrossrefPubMedSearch in Google Scholar
  • 21 Adarmouch L, Sebbani M, Amine M. Research activity among academic medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic in Marrakesh. Educ Res Int 2020;
    CrossrefSearch in Google Scholar