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Comment & Response
October 21, 2020

QT Interval in Patients With COVID-19

Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Clinical Toxicology and Pharmacology, Calvary Mater Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
  • 2Department of Emergency Medicine, Calvary Mater Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
  • 3Division of Medical Toxicology, Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York
  • 4Department of Emergency Medicine, CISSS Montérégie-Centre Hôpital Charles-LeMoyne, Greenfield Park, Québec, Canada
JAMA Cardiol. 2021;6(3):357-358. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2020.4955

To the Editor We read with great interest both publications by Mercuro et al1 and Bessière et al2 reporting on the incidence of QT interval prolongation with the use of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). For this drug combination, a risk-benefit decision must be made between fatal dysrhythmias and the potential benefit of the treatment. This challenge is heightened in a clinical trial conducted during a global pandemic. However, the length of the QT interval is only a marker of the risk of torsade de pointes and other dysrhythmic events.

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