Drug-induced QT-interval shortening following antiepileptic treatment with oral rufinamide
Background - The arrhythmogenic potential of short QT intervals has recently been highlighted in patients with a short QT syndrome. Drug-induced QT-interval prolongation is a known risk factor for ventricular tachyarrhythmias. However, reports on drug-induced QT-interval shortening are rare and proa...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
May 2012
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| In: |
Heart rhythm
Year: 2012, Volume: 9, Issue: 5, Pages: 776-781 |
| ISSN: | 1556-3871 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.hrthm.2012.01.006 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2012.01.006 Verlag, Volltext: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1547527112000070 
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| Author Notes: | Rainer Schimpf, MD, Christian Veltmann, MD, Theano Papavassiliu, MD, Boris Rudic, MD, Turgay Göksu, MD, Jürgen Kuschyk, MD, Christian Wolpert, MD, Charles Antzelevitch, PhD, FHRS, Alois Ebner, MD, Martin Borggrefe, MD, Christian Brandt, MD |
| Summary: | Background - The arrhythmogenic potential of short QT intervals has recently been highlighted in patients with a short QT syndrome. Drug-induced QT-interval prolongation is a known risk factor for ventricular tachyarrhythmias. However, reports on drug-induced QT-interval shortening are rare and proarrhythmic effects remain unclear. - Objective - Recently, rufinamide, a new antiepileptic drug for the add-on treatment of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, was approved in the European Union and the United States. Initial trials showed drug-induced QT-interval shortening. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of rufinamide on QT intervals in patients with difficult-to-treat epilepsies. - Methods - Nineteen consecutive patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and other epilepsy syndromes were included (n = 12 men; mean age 41 ± 12 years). QRS, QT, and Tpeak-Tend intervals were analyzed before and during rufinamide treatment. - Results - The mean QT interval shortened significantly following rufinamide administration (QT interval 349 ± 23 ms vs 327 ± 17 ms; corrected QT interval 402 ± 22 ms vs 382 ± 16 ms; P = .002). Tpeak-Tend intervals were 79 ± 17 ms before and 70 ± 20 ms on treatment (P = .07). The mean reduction of the corrected QT interval was 20 ± 18 ms. During follow-up (3.04 ± 1.09 years), no adverse events including symptomatic cardiac arrhythmias or sudden cardiac deaths were observed. - Conclusion - QTc-interval shortening following oral rufinamide administration in a small patient group was not associated with significant clinical adverse effects. These observations nothwithstanding, the ability of rufinamide to significantly shorten the QT interval portends a potential arrhythmogenic risk that may best be guarded against by periodic electrocardiographic recordings. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 19.08.2019 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1556-3871 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.hrthm.2012.01.006 |