[Proarrhythmic adverse effects of nonarrhythmic drugs]

Abstract

Acquired QT prolongation is almost exclusively the result of inhibition of the potassium channel Ikr. Especially hospitalized patients have a high risk to suffer from Torsade de points (TdP). Therefore, any prescription of drugs with the potential for QT prolongation should involve the consideration of the necessity of the agent and interaction with other QT prolonging drugs. The website www.crediblemed.com helps to identify the risk for TdP of each drug. During drug prescription, it is necessary to monitor QTc with regular ECGs; QTc prolongation >500 ms or QTc increase >60 ms should trigger end of drug administration followed by monitoring of the patient according to the individual risk for TdP.

Keywords: Acquired QT prolongation; Drug-related side effects and adverse reactions; Long QT syndrome; Potassium channel; Torsade de points tachycardia.