[Medication associated long QT syndrome]. / Medikamenten-assoziiertes Long-QT-Syndrom.

ABSTRACT

We report on a 76 year old woman who fainted on her way to the restroom during the night. At the emergency department, a prolonged QT-interval was noticed in addition to sinusbradycardia and marginal hypokalemia. The QT-interval normalized promptly after citalopram was discontinued. Taking into account the clinical picture and the ascertained orthostatic dysregulation, a diagnosis of orthostatic syncope was made. Because of the lengthened QT-interval, drug-induced torsade de pointes ventricular arrhythmia was considered as a differential diagnosis. We describe that citalopram was most probably the cause for the prolonged QT-interval. In our article we discuss the pathophysiology of drug-induced long QT syndrome (LQTS), the most important drugs involved, and finally the prophylaxis and treatment of a TdP ventricular arrhythmia.