ArticleKidney medicine2023
QT-Prolonging Antibiotics, Serum-to-Dialysate Potassium Gradient, and Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death Among Patients Receiving Maintenance Hemodialysis.
Article in Kidney medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 10 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
- 10 tips on how to manage severe arrhythmia in haemodialysis patients.Clinical kidney journal · 2025Review
- Distinguishing Among Causes of Death for Patients with Kidney Failure on Hemodialysis.Kidney360 · 2025Article
- Point-of-Care Chemistry-Guided Dialysate Adjustment to Reduce Arrhythmias: A Pilot Trial.Kidney international reports · 2023Article
- Individualization of Serum-to-Dialysate Potassium Concentrations to Reduce the Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death Conferred by QT-Prolonging Antibiotics in Patients Receiving Hemodialysis.Kidney medicine · 2023Article
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8 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
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Abstract
Rationale & Objective: Treatment with certain QT interval-prolonging antibiotics is associated with a higher risk of sudden cardiac death among individuals with hemodialysis-dependent kidney failure. Concurrent exposure to large serum-to-dialysate potassium gradients, which promote large potassium shifts, may augment the proarrhythmic effects of these medications. The primary objective of this study was to examine whether the serum-to-dialysate gradient modifies the cardiac safety of azithromycin, and separately, levofloxacin/moxifloxacin. Study Design: Retrospective observational cohort study using a new-user study design. Setting & Population: Adult in-center hemodialysis patients with Medicare coverage in the US Renal Data System (2007-2017). Exposure: Initiation of azithromycin (or levofloxacin/moxifloxacin) as compared to amoxicillin-based antibiotics ( Outcomes: Sudden cardiac death (14 days). Analytical Approach: Inverse probability of treatment-weighted survival models to estimate HRs and robust 95% CIs. Results: The azithromycin versus amoxicillin-based antibiotic cohort included 89,379 unique patients with 113,516 azithromycin and 103,493 amoxicillin-based treatment episodes. Azithromycin versus amoxicillin-based antibiotic treatment was associated with a higher risk of sudden cardiac death overall, HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.31-2.16. The risk was numerically higher when the baseline serum-to-dialysate potassium gradient was ≥3 mEq/L compared with <3 mEq/L (HR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.46-3.40 vs HR, 1.43; 95% CI. 1.04-1.96, Limitations: Residual confounding. Conclusions: Although treatment with azithromycin and, separately, respiratory fluoroquinolones were each associated with a heightened risk of sudden cardiac death, this risk was augmented in the setting of larger serum-to-dialysate potassium gradients. Minimizing the potassium gradient may be an approach to reduce the cardiac risk of these antibiotics.
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