Key result
Carbimazole therapy was associated with the development of prolonged QT interval and torsades de pointes in a 53-year-old woman, which persisted even after correction of hypokalemia.
Case Report (n=1)
No
This case report highlights a potential association between carbimazole use and the development of QT prolongation and torsades de pointes.
Alerts clinicians to possible carbimazole-related QT prolongation and TdP; hypothesis-generating and requires confirmation.
Torsades de pointes (TdP) or polymorphic ventricular tachycardia owing to drug-induced QT prolongation is a common cause of withdrawal of marketed drugs and has caused increasing concern in the recent past. Carbimazole, the common antithyroid drug, is not a very well-known offender to cause QT prolongation and TdP. Only a few cases of carbimazole-induced TdP have been reported so far. We report a 53-year-old woman who was on tab. carbimazole (10 mg) twice daily for one month and who presented with respiratory distress, palpitation and syncope attack. Her surface electrocardiogram (ECG) was showing the evidence of TdP and subsequently hypokalemia was also detected. She received conservative management including potassium supplementation. However, QT prolongation persisted even after normalization of serum potassium level. Carbimazole was withdrawn and the patient was discharged as she remained stable and symptom free. This study highlights a possible association between carbimazole and TdP.
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Bagchi et al. (2010) conducted a case report in Torsades de pointes (n=1). Carbimazole was evaluated on Development of torsades de pointes and QT prolongation. Carbimazole therapy was associated with the development of prolonged QT interval and torsades de pointes in a 53-year-old woman, which persisted even after correction of hypokalemia.