PURPOSES: Glucose disturbances are common in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), however, usually, they remain undiagnosed. The aim of this study was to estimate the newly-diagnosed glucose abnormalities in patients undergoing coronary angiography for known or suspected CAD.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: A routine oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was applied in 96 consecutive patients without previous history of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) undergoing coronary angiography. Glucose tolerance was defined according to WHO-2006 criteria by OGTT performed within a week after hospital discharge.
RESULTS: Glucose disturbances prevailed over normoglycemia as 64.58% of the patients demonstrated hyperglycemia while 35.42% presented with normal glucose tolerance (NGT). Overall, 120 min-hyperglycemia (≥7.8 mmol/L) was found out in 52.08% of the participants and only 12.5% of the cases had isolated fasting hyperglycemia (fasting plasma glucose, FPG e6.1 mmol/L and postchallenge glucose <7.8 mmol/L). Based on plasma glucose values such as FPG and 2-hour post-OGTT glucose, the proportion of patients with newly diagnosed T2DM, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) was 26.04%, 28.12% and 10.42 %, respectively. Some 20% of the newly-diagnosed T2DM patients reached a diagnostic FPG value only, 32% reached 120 min.-plasma glucose (PG) value only while 48% met combined criteria.
CONCLUSION: Glucose abnormalities identified by OGTT are more common than normoglycemia - in 64.58% versus 35.42% of the patients undergoing coronary angiography for known or suspected CAD. This finding strongly suggests that OGTT is the most valuable tool for the early detection of disturbed glucose regulation and should be performed routinely in the patients with known or suspected CAD.
Scripta Scientifica Medica 2013; 45(3): 69-73.
Email this article (Login required) 
