Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2006 Jul 1;108(1):103-6.
doi: 10.1182/blood-2006-01-0054. Epub 2006 Mar 2.

Effects of oral arsenic trioxide therapy on QT intervals in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia: implications for long-term cardiac safety

Chung-Wah Siu  1 , Wing-Yan Au, Cindy Yung, Cyrus R Kumana, Chu-Pak Lau, Yok-Lam Kwong, Hung-Fat Tse
Affiliations
Free article
Clinical Trial

Effects of oral arsenic trioxide therapy on QT intervals in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia: implications for long-term cardiac safety

Chung-Wah Siu et al. Blood. .
Free article

Abstract

Ventricular tachyarrhythmias may occur during intravenous arsenic trioxide (As2O3). This has not happened during oral As2O3. Sixteen patients were studied by electrocardiography and 24-hour Holter monitoring at baseline, during and after oral As2O3 (As2O3-ON, As2O3-OFF). QT and corrected QT (QTc) were significantly longer during As2O3-ON than in As2O3-OFF, but QT and QTc dispersions were comparable. The patients' 24-hour heart rates were higher during As2O3-ON than in As2O3-OFF. QTc intervals at each hour were longer during As2O3-ON than in As2O3-OFF. However, QTc prolongation of more than 30 milliseconds only occurred at one time point (2 hours) after oral As2O3, resulting in QTc of more than 500 milliseconds in 3 of 16 patients, all within 4 hours of oral As2O3. Although the standard deviation of normal RR interval was lower during As2O3-ON, ratios of low frequency to high frequency power for As2O3-ON and As2O3-OFF were comparable. No ventricular proarrhythmias were observed. These observations, due to the lower peak plasma arsenic reached during oral As2O3, may explain the relative cardiac safety of oral As2O3.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms