This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Aetiology and risk factors

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

In individual cases of torsades de pointes there are often multiple risk factors present (1,2):

  • electrolyte disturbances (in particular, hypokalaemia, hypomagnesaemia and more rarely hypocalcaemia). Consider the risk of electrolyte disturbance if the patient has gastrointestinal upset
  • bradycardia
  • concomitant use of more than one drug that may prolong the QT interval for example (and not an exhaustive list) (1,2):
    • procainamide
    • quinidine
    • citalopram
    • ondansetron
    • quinine
    • amiodarone
    • methadone
  • Congenital long QT syndrome.
  • cardiac disease (of multiple origins, including congestive heart failure, ventricular hypertrophy, myocardial infarction, recent conversion from atrial fibrillation).
  • impaired hepatic/renal function (due to effects on drug metabolism/excretion).
  • thyroid disease (more common with hypothyroidism and usually normalises with treatment)
  • female sex.
  • age over 65 years
  • hypothermia

Reference:

  1. Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance (2006);31:1-12.
  2. NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service (January 2020). What issues should be considered regarding drug-induced QT prolongation?

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.