Risk from Noncardiac QTc-Prolonging Drugs

Among the factors that can contribute to sudden cardiac death (SCD) is QTc prolongation, due either to the inherited long-QT syndrome or to use of . . .

Among the factors that can contribute to sudden cardiac death (SCD) is QTc prolongation, due either to the inherited long-QT syndrome or to use of certain pharmacologic agents. These researchers quantitated the risk for SCD associated with use of noncardiac QTc-prolonging drugs by analyzing a longitudinal database of more than 500,000 complete patient records from 150 general practices in the Netherlands.

The researchers validated 775 cases of SCD occurring from January 1995 through August 2003 and matched the patients (mean age, 71) by age, sex, and GP setting with 6297 controls. Then they examined exposure to these noncardiac QTc-prolonging drugs: cisapride and domperidone (gastrointestinal drugs); erythromycin and clarithromycin (antibiot…

Reviewing Author

Hugh Calkins, MD