Key result
Liver cirrhosis was associated with a significantly prolonged mean QTc interval compared to healthy controls (458.5 ms vs 424.35 ms, p<0.001), which worsened with increasing disease severity.
Why the study?
QTc prolongation is a common electrocardiographic abnormality in cirrhosis, but its prevalence and correlation with disease severity needed evaluation in a rural tertiary care centre.
Is QTc prolongation more prevalent in patients with liver cirrhosis compared to healthy controls, and does it correlate with disease severity?
Observational (n=200)
No
Is QTc prolongation more prevalent in patients with liver cirrhosis compared to healthy controls, and does it correlate with disease severity?
Absolute Event Rate: 458.5% vs 424.35%
p-value: p=<0.001
QTc prolongation is highly prevalent in patients with liver cirrhosis and correlates with disease severity, suggesting it may serve as an early marker of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy.
QTc monitoring merits consideration in cirrhosis; hypothesis-generating for prognostic utility pending prospective validation.
Introduction: Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy is characterised by increased baseline cardiac output, systolic and diastolic dysfunction, diminished cardiovascular response to stressful stimuli and electrophysiological abnormalities in patients of cirrhosis in the absence of any underlying cardiac disease. QTc prolongation has been described as a common electrocardiographic abnormality in cirrhosis patients. Aims and Objectives: This study was done to evaluate the prevalence of QTc changes in patients of cirrhosis coming to a rural tertiary care centre and to analyse its correlation with disease severity. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted on 100 patients suffering from cirrhosis of liver presented to the department of medicine. Around 100 age and sex-matched individuals were recruited as controls. The Child-Pugh score was used to determine the disease severity in cirrhosis patients. Standard 12-lead ECG was recorded in all cases and controls. Results: Prolongation of QTc interval on ECG was observed in the majority (80%) of cirrhosis patients and it was significantly higher as compared to the healthy controls (P <0.01). The prolongation of QTc was significantly associated with the duration of disease (P <0.05) and disease severity as measured by the Child-Pugh score (P <0.01). Conclusion: QTc prolongation on ECG may be an early marker of cardiac involvement in patients of cirrhosis and is significantly associated with disease severity.
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Sharma et al. (2020) conducted an observational in Liver Cirrhosis (n=200). Liver cirrhosis vs. Healthy controls was evaluated on Mean QTc interval (ms) (p=<0.001). Liver cirrhosis was associated with a significantly prolonged mean QTc interval compared to healthy controls (458.5 ms vs 424.35 ms, p<0.001), which worsened with increasing disease severity.
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