Key result
Sevoflurane triggers profound QT prolongation and ventricular fibrillation in a patient taking dofetilide.
Why the study?
Does sevoflurane anesthesia cause QT prolongation and ventricular fibrillation during catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation?
Case Report (n=1)
No
Does sevoflurane anesthesia cause QT prolongation and ventricular fibrillation during catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation?
Sevoflurane anesthesia can trigger profound QT prolongation and life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias during atrial fibrillation ablation, which is rapidly reversible by switching to propofol.
May signal sevoflurane-dofetilide interaction risk during AF ablation; leaves open whether anesthetic protocols require systematic reevaluation.
We report a case of a 63-year-old woman who developed profound QT prolongation, T-wave alternans, and spontaneous ventricular fibrillation during catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. A thorough search into the possible mechanisms identified the use of sevoflurane, an inhalational gas anesthetic as the culprit. The patient was converted to propofol anesthesia and her QT interval normalized promptly.
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Saini et al. (2013) conducted a case report in Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation (n=1). Sevoflurane was evaluated on QT Prolongation and Ventricular Fibrillation. Exposure to the inhalational anesthetic sevoflurane during atrial fibrillation ablation in a patient on dofetilide caused profound QT prolongation and spontaneous ventricular fibrillation.
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