QT dispersion in type 2 diabetic patients

ABSTRACT

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common causes of patient contact with a physician, and is a major cause of premature disability and mortality. Several studies have described a poor survival prognosis in type 2 diabetic patients compared with non-diabetic populations. It has been postulated that QT prolongation and QT dispersion [QTd]. predispose to cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death. The aim of our study was to detect the relationship between [QT corrected] QTc and QTd with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study included eighty subjects divided into two groups; Group I included sixty patients with type 2 diabetes and group II included twenty healthy controls. All subjects were subjected to the following Careful history taking and clinical examination, assessment of BMI, assessment of cardiovascular autonomic function tests and laboratory investigations including fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels, blood urea and serum creatinine levels, lipid profile, serum electrolytes [Na, K and Ca levels] and electrocardiography [ECG] for measurement of QT interval and calculation of QTc and QTd. The results of our study revealed that QTc and QTd was significantly increased in diabetic patients compared to non-diabetic controls. QTd was significantly related to QTc. QTc and QTd have no relation to the patient's gender. QTc was significantly related to BMI, type of therapy, fasting blood glucose and triglycerides. QTd was significantly related to the patients age, fasting and posiprandial blood glucose levels, triglycerides, HDL-c, type of therapy, presence of cardiac autonomic neuropathy and smoking. QT dispersion should now, be used as a screening test, and those with high QTd should undergo extensive cardiac examinations to identify reversible contributors to future cardiac death, with particular emphasis on examination designed to detect underlying cardiac ischemia. Recommendations: We recommend extending this study to be done on a wider scale and a big number of diabetic patients with different diabetic complications in order to study the correlation of QTc and QTd with diabetic complications