•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Background QT interval prolongation is a common finding among critically ill patients and could be a marker of autonomic nervous dysregulation, instability of metabolism, and/or septic cardiomyopathy. Nevertheless, its prognostic role among septic ICU populations remains unclarified. The current aim of this study was to explore its potential role regarding short-term mortality. Methods In this cohort study, 119 septic adults were included in the study within 24 hours of ICU admission. Demographics, clinical variables, lab values, and QTc intervals were measured within 2 hours of ICU admission following exclusion for clinically significant electrolyte imbalances and use of QT-prolonging medications. QTc interval was calculated using Bazett's, Fridericia's, and Framingham equations. The main outcome was 30-day mortality. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of 30- day mortality, while ROC curve analysis was used to determine discriminatory power. Results QT interval prolongation was prevalent and significantly associated with disease severity parameters such as APACHE-II scores, septic shock, use of vasopressors, and multi-organ failure. Patients who had QT interval prolongation had a significantly higher risk of in-hospital and 30-day mortality. Multivariate analysis showed that for each 10 msec increase in QTc Bazett interval, 30-day mortality risk was increased 4.1- fold (Adj. OR 4.07; 95% CI 2.20-7.52; p

Article Type

Original Study

Subject Area

Critical Care Medicine

IRB Number

Hsh00092

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Download

Share

COinS