An audit of people admitted to hospital with diabetes and coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2): data collection methods. The Association of British Clinical Diabetologists (ABCD) Nationwide Audit

We describe the rationale, aims and objectives and the methodology of data collection for the ABCD nationwide audit of individuals admitted to hospital with COVID-19 and diabetes. The audit was inspired by the urgent need to understand the clinical course of COVID-19 in patients with diabetes admitted to hospital in the UK during the pandemic. This was a clinically-led audit. We used existing infrastructure and expertise to provide data collection using an electronic tool specifically designed and piloted by the steering group members. The clinical variables were chosen to fulfil the main aim of this audit, which was to learn about factors influencing the clinical course of COVID-19 in individuals with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes at the time of admission to hospital and during the whole length of stay, until discharge or death from COVID-19. The data collected so far represents a large, multicentre audit with more than 3500 admissions during the pandemic. We plan to continue collecting additional data and publish ongoing reports of interest to diabetes clinicians with the aim of enhancing knowledge and understanding and thereby improving clinical care of, and outcomes for, people with diabetes who are admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in the UK.