Prolonged QT interval in the infants of diabetic mothers

The prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus is rising. Myocardial hypertrophy is the most common cardiac disorder in the infants of diabetic mothers, which hypothetically can cause fatal arrhythmias. This study investigated prolonged QT in the newborns of diabetic mothers in Afzalipour Hospital in Kerman City, in 2015.
This case-control study was conducted on 49 neonates of diabetic mothers and 30 babies of healthy mothers. Routine echocardiograms and Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) were performed for all the newborns. QTc values were computed from randomly selected beats on ECG.
Twenty-nine (59%) newborns in case group had septal hypertrophy which was higher than control group (P < 0.05). There was no difference between case and control groups in QTc values (P > 0.05), and there was no relationship between septal hypertrophy and QT prolongation. Twenty-one percent of the infants in control group, had septal hypertrophy. Although parameters of M-Mode Echocardiography were similar, TDI showed differences between the two groups. (TDI) is applicable for the measurement of both systolic and diastolic functions.
Findings revealed that the screening and treatment of diabetes during pregnancy need a revision in our context. In addition, there is a paucity of studies concerning the evaluation of TDI in the newborns of diabetic mothers. We recommend conducting studies to compare the routine echocardiograms with TDI in these high risk infants.