Observational studyInternational journal of clinical practice2018
Incidence and outcomes of long QTc in acute medical admissions.
Observational study in International journal of clinical practice, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- QT-prolonging medications: prevalence of use and associated risks in CKD.Nephrology, dialysis, transplantation : official publication of the European Dialysis and Transplant Association - European Renal Association · 2026Review
- 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report of US and Global Data From the American Heart Association.Circulation · 2025Review
- 2024 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report of US and Global Data From the American Heart Association.Circulation · 2024Review
- Developing a Model for Quantifying QTc-Prolongation Risk to Enhance Medication Safety Assessment: A Retrospective Analysis.Journal of personalized medicine · 2024Article
- QTc Prolongation to Predict Mortality in Patients Admitted with COVID-19 Infection: An Observational Study.Current vascular pharmacology · 2024Observational
- Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2023 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association.Circulation · 2023Review
- Validation of Corrected and Dispersed QT as Predictors of Adverse Outcomes in Acute Cardiotoxicities.Cardiovascular toxicology · 2022Article
- Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2021 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association.Circulation · 2021Article
- The relationship between QT interval indices with cardiac autonomic neuropathy in diabetic patients: a case control study.Diabetology & metabolic syndrome · 2020Article
- Incidence and outcomes of long QTc in acute medical admissions.International journal of clinical practice · 2018Observational
- Importance of ECG findings in COVID-19 patients: Predictor of in-hospital prognosis.ARYA atherosclerosisArticle
- Association of Torsade de Pointes and QT Prolongation With Antifungal Triazoles: Analysis Using a Pharmacovigilance Database.In vivo (Athens, Greece)Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsProlonged QT interval on electrocardiogram (ECG) increases the risk of ventricular arrhythmia. Patients admitted to acute medical units (AMU) may be at risk of QT prolongation from multiple, recognised risk factors. Few data exist regarding incidence or outcomes of QT prolongation in acute general medical admissions. The aims were to determine the incidence of Bazett's-corrected QT (QTc) prolongation upon admission to AMU; the relationship between QTc and inpatient mortality, length of stay and readmission; proportion with prolonged QTc subsequently administered QT interval-prolonging drugs.
methodsRetrospective, observational study of 1000 consecutive patients admitted to an AMU in a large urban hospital. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: age <18 years, ventricular pacing, poor quality/absent ECG. QTc determined manually from ECG obtained within 4-hours of admission. QTc prolongation considered ≥470 milliseconds (males) and ≥480 milliseconds (females). In both genders, >500 milliseconds was considered severe. Study end-points, (a) incidence of QTc prolongation at admission; (b) inpatient mortality, length of stay and readmission rates; (c) proportion with QTc prolongation subsequently administered QT interval-prolonging drugs.
resultsOf 1000 patients, 288 patients were excluded, therefore final sample was n = 712. Patient age (mean ± SD) was 63.1 ± 19.4 years; females 49%. QTc prolongation was present in n = 50 (7%) at admission; 1.7% had QTc interval >500 ms. Of the 50 patients admitted with prolonged QTc, 6 (12%) were subsequently administered QT interval-prolonging drugs. QTc prolongation was not associated with worse inpatient mortality or readmission rate. Length of stay was greater in those with prolonged QTc, 7.2 (IQR 2.4-13.2) days vs 3.3 (IQR 1.3-10.0; P = 0.004), however, in a regression model, presence of QTc did not independently affect length of stay.
conclusionsQTc interval prolongation is frequent among patients admitted to AMU. QT interval-prolonging drugs are commonly prescribed to patients presenting with prolonged QTc but whether this affects clinical outcomes is uncertain.
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