title: [A patient with nodal tachycardia after general anesthesia during medication with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor].
abstract: We report on a 62 year old female patient treated with paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, because of an anxiety neurosis undergoing a vaginal hysterectomy in general anesthesia. Apart from a dietary treated diabetes mellitus there were no other diseases. There were no complications during the operation. At the end of the anesthesia an A-V nodal tachycardia appeared which spontaneously changed to a sinus rhythm ten hours after the end of the operation. No clinical or laboratory findings indicated a cardiac ischemia and an additional Holter ECG-Recording showed no further cardiac arrhythmias. No other complications occurred afterwards and the patient was discharged after two weeks. This case report demonstrates clearly that despite a reduced rate of cardiovascular complications compared to other types of antidepressants selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can lead to perioperative cardiac arrhythmias.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Anästhesiologie des Universitätsklinikums der RWTH Aachen.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kopp
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kunitz
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Baumert
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rossaint
mesh_terms: D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy; D008875:Middle Aged; D017374:Paroxetine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D017374:Paroxetine; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors