TY - JOUR
T1 - QTc interval in a sample of long-term schizophrenia inpatients
AU - Ramos-Ríos, Ramón
AU - Arrojo-Romero, Manuel
AU - Paz-Silva, Eduardo
AU - Carballal-Calvo, Fernando
AU - Bouzón-Barreiro, José L.
AU - Seoane-Prado, Jorge
AU - Codesido-Barcala, Rosario
AU - Crespí-Armenteros, Alicia
AU - Fernández-Pérez, Ramón
AU - López-Moríñigo, Javier D.
AU - Tortajada-Bonaselt, Ignacio
AU - Diaz, Francisco J.
AU - de Leon, Jose
PY - 2010/1
Y1 - 2010/1
N2 - This naturalistic study attempted to determine the prevalence of prolonged QTc interval in a relatively large population of inpatients hospitalized with chronic schizophrenia, and to explore QTc relationship with demographic variables, metabolic parameters and prescribed treatments. All inpatients from a Spanish long-term psychiatric hospital were cross-sectionally investigated to determine the prevalence of QTc prolongation and metabolic syndrome. The sample with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia included 171 Caucasian inpatients, all of Spanish origin. A prolonged QTc interval was defined as >450 ms in men and >470 ms in women. The relationships between QTc and other continuous variables were assessed using a linear regression model with QTc as the dependent variable. Only 10 patients (6%) had a prolonged QTc interval; one case was possibly explained by hypokalemia. Three patients (2%) had a QTc > 500 ms. Gender, old age (≥50 years old), current smoking, systolic blood pressure, HDL cholesterol and history of arrhythmia were found to have significant effects on QTc interval in a linear regression analysis. After controlling for significant variables, the mean QTc interval was not significantly influenced by antipsychotic dose, type of antipsychotic treatment, the use of depot antipsychotics, or the number of different antipsychotics prescribed. Our study focused on long-term schizophrenia inpatients with frequent antipsychotic polypharmacy and high antipsychotic doses, and suggested that after excluding the case with hypokalemia length of QTc was associated with history of arrhythmias and with metabolic factors, while the effects of antipsychotic compound or class were not so evident.
AB - This naturalistic study attempted to determine the prevalence of prolonged QTc interval in a relatively large population of inpatients hospitalized with chronic schizophrenia, and to explore QTc relationship with demographic variables, metabolic parameters and prescribed treatments. All inpatients from a Spanish long-term psychiatric hospital were cross-sectionally investigated to determine the prevalence of QTc prolongation and metabolic syndrome. The sample with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia included 171 Caucasian inpatients, all of Spanish origin. A prolonged QTc interval was defined as >450 ms in men and >470 ms in women. The relationships between QTc and other continuous variables were assessed using a linear regression model with QTc as the dependent variable. Only 10 patients (6%) had a prolonged QTc interval; one case was possibly explained by hypokalemia. Three patients (2%) had a QTc > 500 ms. Gender, old age (≥50 years old), current smoking, systolic blood pressure, HDL cholesterol and history of arrhythmia were found to have significant effects on QTc interval in a linear regression analysis. After controlling for significant variables, the mean QTc interval was not significantly influenced by antipsychotic dose, type of antipsychotic treatment, the use of depot antipsychotics, or the number of different antipsychotics prescribed. Our study focused on long-term schizophrenia inpatients with frequent antipsychotic polypharmacy and high antipsychotic doses, and suggested that after excluding the case with hypokalemia length of QTc was associated with history of arrhythmias and with metabolic factors, while the effects of antipsychotic compound or class were not so evident.
KW - Adverse effects
KW - Antipsychotics
KW - Electrocardiography
KW - Long QT syndrome
KW - Metabolic syndrome
KW - Schizophrenia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=71549142270&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=71549142270&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.schres.2009.09.041
DO - 10.1016/j.schres.2009.09.041
M3 - Article
C2 - 19892525
AN - SCOPUS:71549142270
SN - 0920-9964
VL - 116
SP - 35
EP - 43
JO - Schizophrenia Research
JF - Schizophrenia Research
IS - 1
ER -