European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Background:Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a major concern in India and has been described as a modern-day epidemic. It can affect nearly every organ and cause a slew of complications. Cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is a serious complication of diabetes. It is also one of the least diagnosed and understood diabetic complications. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of CAN in diabetic patients and to investigate its relationship with the duration of DM and glycemic control.
Materials and Methods: 80 diabetic patients admitted to the Department of Medicine, NRI Medical College, Guntur, met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Demographic data, history, and clinical examination were documented. All individuals were tested for CAN using 3 tests to assess parasympathetic and 2 tests to assess sympathetic function. Patients were classed as normal, early CAN, definite CAN, or severe CAN using Ewing's criteria. The duration of time for the study was one year and eight months.
Results: The prevalence of CAN in the studied population was 60%. In individuals with CAN, the duration of diabetes was substantially longer, and HbA1c was much greater than in patients with normal cardiac autonomic function. There was a significant connection between CAN and DM duration (r=0.54435) and glycemic control as determined by HbA1c levels (r=0.665925), but not with age. The normal CAN score was 29 (36.25 percent), the early CAN score was 30, the definite CAN score was 9, and the severe CAN score was 12. (15 percent). Background retinopathy (68 percent), proliferative retinopathy (31%), and various retinopathies were identified in CAN patients (19.6 percent) Number 11 maculopathy (19.6 percent) 11. Clinical Presentation Characteristics of Patients Patients with severe CAN and impaired cardiac autonomic function developed diabetic foot 35.55 percent of the time, cataracts 57.14 percent of the time, muscle wasting 14% of the time, and tingling 90% of the time.
Conclusion: CAN is a common and widespread consequence of diabetes that is asymptomatic in the early stages. As a result, it is recommended that every diabetic patient be diagnosed for CAN.