“…Cocaine use during methadone maintenance has been associated with medical (MacGowan et al, 1997), psychiatric (El-Bassel et al, 2004; Grella, Anglin, & Wugalter, 1995) and legal (Grella, et al, 1995; Hunt, Spunt, Lipton, Goldsmith, & Strug, 1986) problems. Moreover, cocaine use (Erwin & Deliargyris, 2002; Levin, Copersino, Epstein, Boyd, & Gorelick, 2008; Magnano et al, 2006) and methadone maintenance (Krantz, Lowery, Martell, Gourevitch, & Arnsten, 2005; Martell, Arnsten, Krantz, & Gourevitch, 2005; Wallner, et al, 2008) are independent risk factors for QTc prolongation. QTc prolongation describes an abnormal lengthening in the interval between the QRS complex and the T wave in electrocardiography, reflecting an increased period of ventricular depolarization and repolarization (Kautzner, 2002).…”