scholarly journals Prolonged QTc: "Mind the Gap"

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-45
Author(s):  
Ahmad Mursel Anam ◽  
Raihan Rabbani ◽  
Farzana Shumy ◽  
M Mufizul Islam Polash ◽  
M Motiul Islam ◽  
...  

We report a case of drug induced torsades de pointes, following acquired long QT syndrome. The patient got admitted for shock with acute abdomen. The initial prolonged QT-interval was missed, and a torsadogenic drug was introduced post-operatively. Patient developed torsades de pointes followed by cardiac arrest. She was managed well and discharged without complications. The clinical manifestations of long QT syndromes, syncope or cardiac arrest, result from torsades de pointes. As syncope or cardiac arrest have more common differential diagnoses, even the symptomatic long QT syndrome are commonly missed or misdiagnosed. In acquired long QT syndrome with no prior suggestive feature, it is not impossible to miss the prolonged QT-interval on the ECG tracing. We share our experience so that the clinicians, especially the junior doctors, will be more alert on checking the QT-interval even in asymptomatic patients. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bccj.v2i1.19970 Bangladesh Crit Care J March 2014; 2 (1): 44-45

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Singh ◽  
J. Martin Maldonado-Duran

We present a case of drug-induced QT prolongation caused by an escitalopram overdose in a patient with previously undiagnosed congenital LQTS. A 15-year-old Caucasian female presented following a suicide attempt via an escitalopram overdose. The patient was found to have a prolonged QT interval with episodes of torsades de pointes. The patient was admitted to the telemetry unit and treated. Despite the resolution of the torsades de pointes, she continued to demonstrate a persistently prolonged QT interval. She was seen by the cardiology service and diagnosed with congenital long QT syndrome. This case illustrates the potential for an escitalopram overdose to cause an acute QT prolongation in a patient with congenital LQTS and suggests the importance of a screening electrocardiogram prior to the initiation of SSRIs, especially in patients at high risk for QT prolongation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
ADAYA WEISSLER-SNIR ◽  
MICHAEL H. GOLLOB ◽  
VIJAY CHAUHAN ◽  
MELANIE CARE ◽  
DANNA A. SPEARS

2021 ◽  
Vol 102 (5) ◽  
pp. 747-750
Author(s):  
Yu S Mishanina ◽  
V N Oslopov ◽  
Yu V Oslopova ◽  
Yu E Teregulov ◽  
E V Khazova

Using a clinical example, the article draws the attention of doctors to the problem of the prolonged QT interval (long QT) and the related problem of fainting (syncope). Syncope is a component of long QT syndrome, and syncope is a precursor of sudden cardiac death. However, syncope in a patient with long QT syndrome may have pathogenesis that is completely unrelated to abnormalities of cardiac ion channels. In other words, such a patient may have a second disease as a syntropy relates to prolonged QT interval, to an extent mimicking long QT syndrome. The presented medical history of a 33-year-old patient S. shows the complexity of differential diagnosis of the causes of syncope. The crucial part in the diagnosis, in addition to the clinical picture, was the so-called tilt test, little-known to general medical practice, as well as the laboriousness of making a final diagnosis of the long QT Syndrome type 2, which required a molecular genetic study whole-exome sequencing. Patient S. had vasovagal syncope that not associated with long QT syndrome, but she has a risk of sudden cardiac death, and the article identifies therapeutic and other measures to reduce this risk.


2022 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. D. Tiver ◽  
D. Dharmaprani ◽  
J. X. Quah ◽  
A. Lahiri ◽  
K. E. Waddell-Smith ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Acquired long QT syndrome is an important and preventable cause of cardiac arrest. Certain medications and electrolyte disturbance are common contributors, and often coexist. In this case, we report five contributors to cardiac arrest. Case presentation This case is of a 51-year-old Caucasian female patient who presented with vomiting associated with hypokalemia and hypomagnesemia. She subsequently received ondansetron and metoclopramide, on the background of chronic treatment with fluoxetine. She then suffered an in-hospital monitored cardiac arrest, with features of long QT and torsades de pointes retrospectively noted on her prearrest electrocardiogram. She was diagnosed with acquired long QT syndrome, and her QT interval later normalized after removal of offending causes. Conclusions This case highlights the importance of proper consideration prior to prescribing QT prolonging medications, especially in patients who have other risk factors for prolonged QT, such as electrolyte disturbances and pretreatment with QT prolonging medications.


Circulation ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 116 (suppl_16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Stramba-Badiale ◽  
Lia Crotti ◽  
Karine Goulene ◽  
Matteo Pedrazzini ◽  
Savina Mannarino ◽  
...  

Background. The long QT syndrome (LQTS), a leading cause of sudden death under 20 years of age, is due to mutations in genes which encode ion channels involved in the control of ventricular repolarization. In a prospective study on 34,000 neonates we found that a prolonged QT interval was associated with a 41 times greater risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and, recently, in a case-control study on 201 cases of SIDS we found disease-causing LQTS mutations in 9.5% of the victims. Based on these results the Italian Ministry of Health is considering the possibility of introducing in the National Health Service an electrocardiographic (ECG) screening program in the first month of life to identify infants affected by LQTS. A realistic assessment of the prevalence of infants with LQTS becomes necessary. Methods. An ECG was recorded in the first month of life in 44,596 neonates. The QT interval was measured and corrected for heart rate according to the Bazett’s formula (QTc). In the neonates with a markedly prolonged QT (QTc ≥ 470 msec) molecular screening of the LQTS genes was performed. Results. A QTc between 440 and 470 msec was observed in 611 neonates (1.4%). A QTc ≥ 470 ms was found in 31 neonates (0.07%). Genetic analysis was performed in 28/31 (90%) neonates and LQTS mutations were identified in 14 of them (50%): 8 were LQT1, 4 LQT2 and 2 LQT3. Besides one de novo mutation, all other cases were familial and genetic analysis identified additional family members (37/72, 51%) affected by LQTS who had not been previously diagnosed. Within these 28 infants QTc was longer in the positively genotyped neonates (493±22 vs 479±6 ms, p=0.037) and a LQTS mutation was identified in all the neonates (n=5) with a QTc > 496 ms. Conclusions. An ECG performed in the first month of life, with genetic analysis in selected cases, allows early diagnosis of infants with sporadic and familial forms of LQTS, thus leading to institution of effective therapies aimed at preventing sudden death either in infancy or later on in life, not only in the neonates but also in their affected family members. This study also provides a first data-based estimate of LQTS prevalence, likely to be between 1/3,000 and 1/2,500 live births.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 315-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marwan Badri ◽  
Aashay Patel ◽  
Chinmay Patel ◽  
Guizhi Liu ◽  
Matthew Goldstein ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-84
Author(s):  
Dániel Czuriga ◽  
Andrea Szegedi ◽  
Ferenc Győry ◽  
Attila Szilágyi ◽  
Sándor Sipka ◽  
...  

Abstract QT interval prolongation on the electrocardiogram is considered a precursory sign for imminent, potentially lethal ventricular arrhythmias. Beside the inherited condition of long QT syndrome, numerous drugs, certain electrolyte disturbances and early transmural ischemia have been identified to induce reversible prolongation of the QT interval, collectively called as acquired long QT syndrome. Herein we describe a case of a patient with transient QT prolongation and Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, a rather infrequent cause of long QT development. Serial changes of the repolarization pattern were documented to demonstrate progression and resolution of the abnormal QT interval.


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