Objective: We sought to investigate the clinical significance of secondary electrocardiographic (ECG) changes in men after using escitalopram.
Methods: This pilot observational cohort study recruited male patients taking escitalopram for at least 6 mo in Mental Hospital of Qassim. All patients underwent a 12-lead ECG examination. We also measured the heart rate (HR), QTc, and QRS interval. Data on all related medical conditions and medications were recorded.
Results: Fifty-three men were recruited, with a mean age of 37.39±8.39 y: 34.4% and 31.1% of these patients were taking escitalopram for depression and anxiety, respectively. The mean dose of escitalopram was 14.35 mg. Observations showed that 20.9% of the patients taking escitalopram had a fast HR (>100 beats/min [bpm]), indicative of sinus tachycardia, whereas 11.4% of patients had a slow HR (<60 bpm). The mean QT and QTc in patients taking escitalopram were 366.62±28.69 and 398.92±16.15 ms, respectively.
Conclusion: Low doses of escitalopram resulted in minimal clinically significant changes. Thus, patients should be monitored when doses are escalated further.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.