Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2012 Nov 30:2012:bcr2012006687.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2012-006687.

Syncope in a patient being treated for hepatic and intestinal amoebiasis

Kavita Yelve  1 , Sanat Phatak, Meenakshi Amit Patil, Amar R Pazare
Affiliations
Case Reports

Syncope in a patient being treated for hepatic and intestinal amoebiasis

Kavita Yelve et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

A 63-year-old man presented to our hospital with amoebic liver abscess and was treated successfully for the same. During the course of his treatment, he developed syncopal attacks and was found to have Torsades de Pointes on electrocardiogram. The patient was treated with intravenous magnesium and direct current cardioversion. Hypokalaemia, chloroquine and sepsis were suspected to have precipitated the arrhythmia. The patient remained arrhythmia-free following the correction of these factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ECG on admission showing sinus rhythm and normal axis, with T-wave inversions in frontal leads V2–V4. There was delayed repolarisation with a prolonged corrected QT interval (680 ms).
Figure 2
Figure 2
ECG during syncopal episode showing polymorphic ventricular tachycardia with twisting around the axis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
ECG at discharge showing normalisation of the QT interval to 440 ms and T inversion in leads V1–V4.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Haverkamp W, Hördt M, Chen X, et al. Torsade de pointes. Z Kardiol 1993;82:763–74. - PubMed
    1. Roden DM. Torsade de pointes. Clin Cardiol 1993;16:683–6. - PubMed
    1. Schwartz PJ, Moss AJ, Vincent GM. Diagnostic criteria for the long QT syndrome: an update. Circulation 1993;88:782–4. - PubMed
    1. Harris L, Downar E, Shaikh NA, et al. Antiarrhythmic potential of chloroquine: New use for an old drug. Can J Cardiol 1988;4:295–300. - PubMed
    1. Sánchez-Chapula J, Salinas-Stefanon E, Torres-Jácome J. Blockade of currents by the antimalarial drug chloroquine in feline ventricular myocytes. JPET 2001;297:437–45. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms