K Zhan1,2, X Zhang3, B Wang4, Z Jiang5, X Fang2, S Yang6, H Jia1, L Li7, G Cao7, K Zhang8, X Ma2. 1. From the College of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China. 2. Department of Epidemiology, College of Preventive Medicine, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, China. 3. Department of General Surgery, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, China. 4. Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Center, Chinese PLA Respiratory Disease Institute, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, China. 5. Yidu Cloud Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing, China. 6. Department of Infectious Diseases, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing 400038, China. 7. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, China. 8. Department of Outpatients, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, China.
We would like to thank Dr Chu for their comments about our recent original article ‘Short- to long-term prognosis of glycemic control in COVID-19 patients with type 2 diabetes’. In response, we would like to add the following clarifications:We agree with the suggestion that the division into well-controlled and poorly controlled glycemic status based on long-term blood sugar control measurements, such as HbA1c or multiple times of blood sugar measurements before or after admission, could make the results more convincing. However, Huoshenshan Hospital and Taikang-Tongji hospital are two emergency field hospitals established during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China. All the COVID-19 patients were admitted between February 12 and 10 April 2020, due to the suddenness of COVID-19 outbreak and the logistical difficulties, no more biochemical indicators were measured. Second, we agreed that pre-existing chronic diseases might affect the outcomes of COVID-19 patients. However, we first compared the characteristics between well-controlled and poorly controlled groups, with no significant difference in any pre-existing chronic diseases of the patients. Due to the limited sample size in our study, too many correction terms may lead to a reduction of the statistical power to find the effect of interest. Lastly, all the clinical symptoms were checked first by experienced doctors during admission then recorded in electronic medical records.
Funding
The present study was funded by the Outstanding Youth Science Foundation of Chongqing (cstc2020jcyj-jqX0014), Chongqing Talents: Exceptional Young Talents Project (CQYC202005003), and the Science Foundation for Outstanding Young People of the Army Medical University (grant to X.M. and L.L.). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.Conflict of interest: None declared.