Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25165548›Full record

ArticleTherapeutic advances in infectious disease2013

Clarithromycin, QTc interval prolongation and torsades de pointes: the need to study case reports.

W Victor R Vieweg, Jules C Hancox, Mehrul Hasnain, Jayanthi N Koneru, Michael Gysel, Adrian Baranchuk

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Therapeutic advances in infectious disease, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

W Victor R ViewegDepartments of Psychiatry and Internal Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, 17 Runswick Drive, Richmond, VA 23238-5414, USA.
Jules C HancoxSchool of Physiology and Pharmacology and Cardiovascular Research Laboratories, Medical Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Mehrul HasnainDepartment of Psychiatry, Memorial University, St John's, Newfoundland, Canada.
Jayanthi N KoneruDepartment of Internal Medicine and Division of Cardiology and Cardiac Electrophysiology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
Michael GyselSchool of Medicine, Kingston General Hospital, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Adrian BaranchukDepartment of Cardiology, Kingston General Hospital, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Virginia Commonwealth University · USKingston General Hospital · CAMemorial University of Newfoundland · CAQueen's University · CAUniversity of Bristol · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe manufacturers of clarithromycin sought a drug similar in efficacy to erythromycin but with a superior side-effect profile. They generally achieved this outcome, but postmarketing findings identified a series of reports linking clarithromycin to QTc interval prolongation and torsades de pointes (TdP) ultimately leading to a Black Box Warning. We sought to clarify risk factors associated with TdP among case reports of patients receiving clarithromycin linked to QTc interval prolongation and TdP. METHODS AND

resultsIn a detailed literature search, we found 15 women, five men, and one boy meeting our search criteria. Among the 17 adults with reported clarithromycin dose and concurrent QTc interval measurement, we found no statistically significant relationship between clarithromycin dose and QTc interval duration. This did not change for the adults who developed TdP. Among adults, major risk factors were female sex (15), old age (11) and heart disease (17). A total of eight adult subjects had all three major risk factors and 14 of the 20 adults had at least two major risk factors. All adult subjects had at least two risk factors besides clarithromycin. A total of four of the 20 adults received cisapride and three received disopyramide. Three adults were considered to suffer from some aspect of the congenital long QT syndrome.

conclusionsWe believe that the risk factor description for this drug should be refined to emphasize the major risk factors of (1) female sex, (2) old age and (3) heart disease.

Indexed as

Clarithromycindrug-induced QTc interval prolongationrisk factorstorsades de pointes

Identifiers

PMID25165548
PMCPMC4040724
OpenAlexW2105564309

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.