Does Azithromycin Cause QT Prolongation in Hospitalized Patients With Severe Community Acquired Pneumonia?

HaEmek Medical Center, Israel

Status: Completed

Conditions: Pneumonia

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01553734

EMC-130-11

Details and patient eligibility

About

The macrolide group of antibiotics can cause QT prolongation, and endanger the patient with life threatening arrythmias. QT prolongation caused by Azythromycin, a relatively new macrolide, is extremely rare, and was not reported in clinical trials. Our hypothesis is that patients hospitalized with severe community acquired pneumonia, usually with multiple comorbid conditions will have a higher rate of QT prolongation, compared to the clinical trials published

Full description

Patients hospitalized with community aquired pneumonia will have their corrected QT measured daily during antibiotic therapy. Concomittant medications and electrolyte abnormalities that cause prolonged QT will be recorded

Enrollment: 148 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Severe community acquired pneumonia
• treated with azithromycin
• age over 18 years

Exclusion criteria

• Azithromycin initiated before hospitalization
• technically undecipherable ECG
• Permanent pacemaker