Cold pressor test in diabetic autonomic neuropathy.

Abstract The tests for evaluating sympathetic dysfunction seen in diabetic patients are few and insensitive. For this reason, there are some difficulties in diagnosing sympathetic dysfunction and additional tests are required. The cold pressor test causes a strong sympathetic stimulus and this study investigated whether this test could be helpful in diagnosing sympathetic dysfunction. The cold pressor test was applied to a group of diabetic patients ( n = 33) and a control group ( n = 15). The mean systolic cold pressor response in diabetic patients was found similar to controls (9 ± 1.4 vs. 10.6 ± 1.2 mmHg). However the mean diastolic cold pressor response was significantly lower in diabetic patients as compared with the control group (7.7 ± 1.0 vs. 12.0 ± 1.1 mmHg, P P P