title: QTc variability in schizophrenia patients treated with antipsychotics and healthy controls.
abstract: QTc prolongation is associated with the administration of some antipsychotics but the QTc interval is also known to vary physiologically. There is little published evidence about changes in QTc variability during treatment with antipsychotics. In this prospective investigation, we analyzed ECGs in 61 patients suffering from a schizophrenic disorder who were treated with different antipsychotics and 31 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. We found no differences in QTc intervals nor in QTc variability between patients and controls. Our results raise the question of the clinical relevance of a single ECG for diagnostics of cardiac complications in schizophrenia patients and suggest the need to conduct ECG monitoring in patients at high risk for cardiac complications during antipsychotic treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychiatry, Innsbruck University Hospital, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria. maria.rettenbacher@uibk.ac.at
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rettenbacher
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Eder-Ischia
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bader
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Edlinger
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofer
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hummer
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kemmler
authors.forename: Elisabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hochleitner
authors.forename: W Wolfgang
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Fleischhacker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008133:Long QT Syndrome / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents