QTc prolongation in psychiatric inpatients: A cross-sectional study
Journal Title: Αρχεία Ελληνικής Ιατρικής - Year 2009, Vol 26, Issue 2
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Antipsychotic drugs (AD) are prescribed frequently and they often cause serious cardiovascular side effects, especially QTc prolongation. QTc prolongation and dispersion can predict drug induced arrhythmias and are associated with the risk of sudden cardiac death. The prevalence of QTc prolongation is poorly studied in Greek inpatients in private –for– profit psychiatric clinics. METHOD Psychiatric inpatients, 47 females and 46 males, were included in a cross-sectional study at the “Asklipeiion” clinic, Thessaloniki. The mean age of participants was 57.8 (±15.2) years and 50 of the patients were admitted for psychotic syndrome. The patients were studied in 3 age groups: 20– 39, 40–59 and >=60 years. Standard 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) was performed for each patient. The QT interval was measured from the ECG and corrected for heart rate using the Bazett and Fridericia formula. The number and category of drugs taken by each patient was recorded. RESULTS The mean QTc interval was 398.16 (±31.99) msec. The prevalence of QTc prolongation was estimated at 3.23% (1.11–9.07%, CI 95%). Patients with prolonged QTc had a median age of 54.7 (range 30.0–70.0) years. No statistically significant differences in QTc duration were found between men and women, among different age groups, different disease groups or among groups of patients who took different numbers of drugs. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of QTc prolongation in Greek psychiatric inpatients was lower than that found in previous studies. Despite the lack of statistically significant differences in QTc mean duration among the groups of inpatients, QTc measurement and prolongation remain useful clinical tools.
Authors and Affiliations
G. NALPANTIDIS, P. ROSIS, A. DRIMONITIS, I. SAPARDANIS
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP91487
- DOI -
- Views 79
- Downloads 0
Right renal artery aneurysm
No abstract available
Ασυνήθης περίπτωση βαριάς θρομβοπενίας σε ασθενή με ασταθή στηθάγχη<br />
Distribution of 2590 articles of the Hellenic Bibliography of History of Medicine
This article presents the distribution of the 2590 titles of publications in the «Hellenic Bibliography of History of Medicine, 1750–2000», which were collected by researching books, journals and volumes of congress up...
Physician-patient communication and medical errors: The role of patient-centered medicine in malpractice prevention
The quality of care is not the major determinant of the patient's decision to pursue a malpractice claim. Breakdown in the doctor-patient communication and relationship are critical factors in the path to malpractice lit...
Wellens' syndrome
No abstract available