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Canadian Medical Association Journal logoLink to Canadian Medical Association Journal
. 1982 Sep 1;127(5):368–372.

Torsades de pointes, a common arrhythmia, induced by medication.

P T Ko, S Gulamhusein, W J Kostuk, G J Klein
PMCID: PMC1862015  PMID: 7104914

Abstract

Between May 1980 and April 1981 four patients were referred to one hospital with syncope or recurrent ventricular fibrillation while taking antiarrhythmic or phenothiazine drugs. In all the patients ventricular tachyarrhythmias with the characteristics of torsades de pointes were documented in association with prolonged QT intervals. With removal of the offending agent (in all the patients) supplemented by temporary overdrive pacing (in two patients) the tachyarrhythmias subsided. This study suggests that drug-induced torsades de pointes is an important clinical entity that occurs more frequently than has been suspected.

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Selected References

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