Antipsychotics And Electrocardiographic Monitoring In Patients With Schizophrenia
- Author:
Pamela Mei Yuan Ng
;
Suet Bin Chai
;
Ker-Chiah Wei
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Antipsychotic, Electrocardiogram, QTc, Schizophrenia
- From:ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry
2016;17(2):151-159
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Objectives: Patients with schizophrenia are more likely to die prematurely than
the general population. They have a higher risk of cardiovascular related
morbidity and mortality. Antipsychotic medications are also known to be
associated with the prolongation of the rate-corrected QT (QTc) interval, which
is linked to dangerous arrhythmias. The primary objective of our study is to
investigate the practice of electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring for patients with
schizophrenia who were hospitalised. The secondary objective is to evaluate the
prevalence of QTc prolongation in this group of patients. Methods: We included
patients with schizophrenia who were discharged from the acute general adult
psychiatric wards of the Institute of Mental Health in Singapore from 1 July
2014 to 21 July 2014. A retrospective analysis of the medical records was carried
out to assess if they had received ECG during their hospitalisation. We also
analysed their risk of developing QTc prolongation. Results: We had a sample
size of 107 patients. There were 31 patients (29·0%) who received ECG during
their hospitalisation. Of the 95 patients who had moderate-to-high risk of
developing QTc prolongation, 29 of them received ECG. Of the 31 patients who
received ECG, 10 of them (32·3%) had QTc prolongation. Conclusion: The ECG
monitoring in the study patients was inadequate, and as a result, we were unable
to evaluate the prevalence of prolonged QTc interval with confidence. We
recommend performing baseline ECGs for these patients and conducting ECG
teachings for clinicians who work in the psychiatric service settings. ASEAN
Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 17 (2): July – December 2016: XX XX.
- Full text:P020170619549551697828.pdf
