QTc interval prolongation due to spinal anesthesia in patients with and without diabetes: an observational study

Spinal anesthesia and autonomic neuropathy (caused by diabetes) prolong the QTc interval. Changes in the duration of the QTc interval following subarachnoid blockade in patients with diabetes have not been evaluated. We hypothesized that after subarachnoid blockade, QTc interval prolongation would be greater in patients with diabetes than in those without. Accordingly, we compared the QTc interval, T wave peak-to-end interval (Tp-e interval), blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability before and after spinal anesthesia in patients with and without diabetes.

This prospective observational study (Clinical Research Information Service identifier: KCT0004897) was conducted in a tertiary university hospital and included 24 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM group) and 24 patients without it (control group) who were scheduled for spinal anesthesia. The QTc interval, Tp-e interval, heart rate variability, blood pressure, and heart rate were measured before (T1) and 1 (T2), 5 (T3), and 10 min (T4) following subarachnoid blockade.

Ten minutes following subarachnoid blockade, the QTc intervals of patients in the DM group were significantly longer than the baseline values, whereas the change in the QTc interval in the control group was not significant (p < 0.0001 vs. p = 0.06).

Spinal anesthesia caused a more significant prolongation of the QTc interval in patients with diabetes than in those without.