Therapeutic advances in infectious disease
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Ther Adv Infect Dis · Oct 2013
Azithromycin, cardiovascular risks, QTc interval prolongation, torsade de pointes, and regulatory issues: A narrative review based on the study of case reports.
Over the past year, three articles have appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine describing conflicting findings about azithromycin and cardiac safety, particular azithromycin-induced QTc interval prolongation and torsade de pointes. The FDA wants healthcare providers to consider azithromycin-induced fatal cardiac arrhythmias for patients already at risk for cardiac death and other potentially arrhythmogenic cardiovascular conditions. In a systematic review of case reports we sought to determine factors that link to azithromycin-induced/associated QTc interval prolongation and torsade de pointes. ⋯ Additional risk factors were female sex, older age, heart disease, QTc interval prolonging drugs and metabolic inhibitors, hypokalemia, and bradycardia. All 12 subjects had at least two additional risk factors. Elderly women with heart disease appear to be at particularly risk for drug-related QTc interval prolongation and torsade de pointes.