Premium
Clinical Relevance and Management of Drug‐Related QT Interval Prolongation
Author(s) -
Crouch Michael A.,
Limon Lynn,
Cassano Angela T.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
pharmacotherapy: the journal of human pharmacology and drug therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.227
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1875-9114
pISSN - 0277-0008
DOI - 10.1592/phco.23.7.881.32730
Subject(s) - prolongation , qt interval , relevance (law) , medicine , interval (graph theory) , drug , cardiology , pharmacology , mathematics , law , combinatorics , political science
Much attention recently has focused on drugs that prolong the QT interval, potentially leading to fatal cardiac dysrhythmias (e.g., torsade de pointes). We provide a detailed review of the published evidence that supports or does not support an association between drugs and their risk of QT prolongation. The mechanism of drug‐induced QT prolongation is reviewed briefly, followed by an extensive evaluation of drugs associated with QT prolongation, torsade de pointes, or both. Drugs associated with QT prolongation are identified as having definite, probable, or proposed associations. The role of the clinician in the prevention and management of QT prolongation, drug‐drug interactions that may occur with agents known to affect the QT interval, and the impact of this adverse effect on the regulatory process are addressed.