Key result
Cesium salt toxicity triggers marked QTc prolongation and polymorphic VT, leading to ~25% mortality.
Systematic Review (n=20)
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Cesium salts warrant avoidance and exposure screening in unexplained QT prolongation; Level 5 data leaves open true incidence and causality.
A 47-year-old patient presented with syncope and recurrent episodes of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. She had evidence of prolonged QT interval by ECG and had been taking cesium as a dietary supplement. Correction of the hypokalemia and discontinuation of the cesium resulted in normalization of the QT interval during follow-up with no further recurrence of ventricular arrhythmias. The use of this drug is potentially hazardous as it may induce fatal ventricular arrhythmias.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Saliba et al. (2001) conducted a systematic review in Cesium salt intoxication and associated ventricular arrhythmias (n=20). Cesium salts (cesium chloride or cesium carbonate) was evaluated on All-cause mortality / fatal outcome due to cesium intoxication. Cesium salt intake resulted in QT prolongation in 70% of reported cases (median QTc 620 ms), polymorphic ventricular tachycardia in 45%, and a fatal outcome in 25% of patients.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: