title: Electrocardiographic findings of palonosetron in cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Nausea and vomiting are among the major problems occurring during and after the chemotherapy treatments of cancer patients. The recently developed 5-HT(3) antagonists have proved much more effective than former agents. Several studies have shown that these agents cause certain ECG changes. We aimed to evaluate the ECG changes caused by palonosetron, one of the new 5-HT(3) antagonists.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our study includes a total of 50 patients diagnosed with solid-organ tumors receiving chemotherapy. The patients were applied 12-lead ECG before palonosetron infusion. Afterwards, subsequent ECGs were applied on the 30th, 60th, and 90th minutes following the infusion of palonosetron. Arterial blood pressure was measured before and after the infusion. PR, QRS, QT, QTmax, QTmin, QTd, Pmax, Pmin, Pd, QTc, QTcmax, QTcmin, and QTcd values were evaluated for each ECG.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We did not detect significant correlations between the systolic and diastolic blood pressures before and after (30 min) palonosetron infusion (p > 0.05). However, there was a statistically significant decrease in heart rate (p = 0.000). The evaluation of ECG findings revealed that there was a significant prolongation in PR distance, as shown by the comparisons of 0 min with 30, 60, and 90 min. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in QRS, QT, QTmax, QTmin, QTd, Pmax, Pmin, Pd, QTc, QTcmax, QTcmin, and QTcd values (p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, we revealed that palonosetron did not cause any severe rhythmic disorders or symptomatic ECG changes. We concluded that it could be safe to administer palonosetron antiemetically.
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Department, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey. ggonullu@omu.edu.tr
authors.forename: Guzin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gonullu
authors.forename: Sabri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Demircan
authors.forename: Mustafa Kemal
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Demirag
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Erdem
authors.forename: Idris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yucel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000932:Antiemetics / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007546:Isoquinolines / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009325:Nausea / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D000077924:Palonosetron; D011812:Quinuclidines / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D058831:Serotonin 5-HT3 Receptor Antagonists / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013997:Time Factors; D014839:Vomiting / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000932:Antiemetics; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D007546:Isoquinolines; D011812:Quinuclidines; D058831:Serotonin 5-HT3 Receptor Antagonists; D000077924:Palonosetron