title: Drug-induced proarrhythmia and use of QTc-prolonging agents: clues for clinicians.
abstract: Use of drugs with the potential for prolongation of the QTc interval and proarrhythmia is a growing challenge facing clinicians. Many pharmaceutical agents have been denied approval for human use, approved with restrictions and warnings regarding proarrhythmia, or withdrawn from the market based upon arrhythmic risk. Despite known risk factors for QTc prolongation and drug-induced arrhythmia, precise prediction of the risk of torsades de pointes (TdP) in an individual patient remains difficult. The mechanism of drug-induced TdP typically involves use of an agent that blocks the I(Kr) cardiac potassium current, often in combination with risk-amplifying factors such as high drug levels, reduced drug metabolism, polypharmacy, and patient-specific factors such as gender, age, and genetic polymorphism. For the clinician, an integrated approach involving appreciation of the risk factors for proarrhythmia combined with computer-based risk assessment is the best method for reducing the risk of drug-induced proarrhythmia in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Arrhythmia Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, 32 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: E Kevin
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Heist
authors.forename: Jeremy N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Ruskin
mesh_terms: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D006634:Histamine H1 Antagonists / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D008133:Long QT Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D016593:Terfenadine / Q000009:adverse effects; D016171:Torsades de Pointes / Q000139:chemically induced*
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D006634:Histamine H1 Antagonists; D016593:Terfenadine