QT Prolongation Risk with Ceftriaxone and Lansoprazole Combination

Numerous medications can prolong the QT interval and increase risk for Torsades de Pointes and sudden cardiac death. Although the U.S. FDA provides guidance for assessment of treatment-induced QT prolongation, routine testing is not done for drug combinations whose individual components have not been associated with risk.

Investigators now have developed a method to mine for QT prolongation–associated drug interactions (QT-DDI), using the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System database coupled with electrocardiogram (ECG) records from two institutions' electronic health records. The authors selected the combination of ceftriaxone and lansoprazole for further investigation from among eight combinations associated with potential QT-DDI not explain…