Table 2.

Risk Factors for Torsade de Pointes in Hospitalized Patients

Clinically recognizable risk factors (61-65)

QTc >500 ms (71-74)

LQT2-type repolarization: notching, long Tpeak–Tend (11,12)

Use of QT-prolonging drugs (75-77)

Concurrent use of more than 1 QT-prolonging drug (78-80)

Rapid infusion by intravenous route (59)

Heart disease (64,73,75,76)

Congestive heart failure (39)

Myocardial infarction (39,73)

Advanced age (75,77,86)

Female sex (64,72,73,75-77,79,81-85)

Hypokalemia (46,74,87-90)

Hypomagnesemia (89,91-94)

Hypocalcemia (95,96)

Treatment with diuretics (72,74,97)

Impaired hepatic drug metabolism (hepatic dysfunction or drug-drug    interactions) (76,79)

Bradycardia (65,87)

Sinus bradycardia, heart block, incomplete heart block with pauses    (98,99)

Premature complexes leading to short-long-short cycles (65,72)

Multiple clinically recognizable risk factors (64,65,76,79,84)

Clinically silent risk factors

Occult (latent) congenital LQTS (23,64)

Genetic polymorphisms (reduced repolarization reserve) (26,27,31,66-69)