Abstract
Objectives: This study assessed outcomes of prediabetes and undiagnosed diabetes mellitus among patients with acute coronary syndrome.
Methods: A total of 99 consecutive patients admitted to the coronary care unit of King Khalid Hospital, Tabuk from June 2014 to April 2015 were recruited for this study. A structured questionnaire was administered to obtain the respondents' socio-demographic characteristics and coronary risk factors. Blood samples were taken for Glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and prediabetes. The ethical committees of both the University of Tabuk and King Khalid Hospital approved this research.
Results: The mean age of participants was 51.8 years +/- 11.3, with male predominance (84.8%). Twenty-three (29.8%) patients were found to be prediabetes, 11 (14.3%) newly discovered diabetes mellitus, while 37 (48.1%) were known diabetics. Interestingly those with undiscovered diabetes had higher rates of complications: 45.4% had ventricular arrhythmins and 63.6% had low ejection fraction. A strong statistical correlation was found between HbA1c and the number of cigarettes smoked per day (p < 0.001) and between HbA1c and hypokalaemia. No correlation was found between HbA1c and acute coronary syndrome complications (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: Prediabetes and undiagnosed diabetes mellitus were common among patients with acute coronary syndrome in Tabuk and were associated with more cardiovascular complications than known diabetics. More multicentre studies are needed to assess the prognosis of acute coronary syndrome among patients with undiagnosed diabetes mellitus and prediabetes.