Prevalence and risk factors for acquired long QT syndrome in the emergency department: a retrospective observational study.

BACKGROUND:Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a heterogeneous syndrome that may be congenital or, more frequently, acquired. The real-world prevalence of acquired LQTS (aLQTS) in the emergency department (ED) remains to be determined. The aim of this study was to determine prevalence of aLQTS and its impact on symptoms on ED admissions. METHODS:Electrocardiograms (ECG) of 5,056 consecutively patients admitted in the ED of a tertiary hospital between January 28 ththRESULTS:A total of 383 ECGs with prolonged QTc were recognized, corresponding to a prevalence of aLQTS at admission of 7.82%. Patients with aLQTS were more commonly men (53.3%) with an age of (73.49±14.79) years old and QTc interval of (505.3±32.4) ms. Only 20.4% of these patients with aLQTS were symptomatic. No ventricular arrhythmias were recorded. Patients with QT interval greater than 500 ms were more frequently female (59.5%; PPORORORCONCLUSION:aLQTS is particularly prevalent in the ED. Female patients on antibiotics and antipsychotics are at particularly high risk. Efforts must be made to avoid, detect and treat aLQTS as early as possible.