Table 1.
Clinical Characteristics of Screened and Study Subjects
| Screened Patients | N = 437 |
|---|---|
| Reasons for Exclusion | |
| No DSE available prior to transplant or no ECG available posttransplant | 227 (52%) |
| QT prolonging drugs | 76 (17.0%) |
| Renal failure | 28 (6.4%) |
| Underlying cardiac disease | 16 (3.7%) |
| Electrolyte abnormalities | 15 (3.4%) |
| Heart rhythm abnormalities | 13 (3.0%) |
| Other | 11 (2.5%) |
| Study Patients | N = 51 |
| Age at transplant (years) | 57.0 ± 8.9 |
| Males | 35 (69%) |
| Patients on β‐blocker pre‐OLTx | 20 (39%) |
| Etiology of ESLD | |
| Hepatitis C | 20 (39%) |
| Alcoholic cirrhosis | 7 (14%) |
| Hepatitis C + Alcoholic cirrhosis | 5 (10%) |
| NASH | 5 (10%) |
| Other | 14 (27%) |
| MELD score | 16 ± 5.6 |
| Child‐Pugh score | |
| A | 17 (33%) |
| B | 23 (45%) |
| C | 11 (22%) |
Reasons for exclusion of screened subjects and clinical characteristics of study subjects are listed. The reasons for exclusion reflect the stepwise exclusion process, i.e., patients who did not have post‐OLTx ECG were not studied for presence of electrolyte abnormality. This means that no subject was excluded for more than one reason. Therefore, the prevalence of several factors affecting QT duration in the screened population appears underestimated. The data in the Results section reflect prevalence of overlapping factors in ESLD patients.