Hypomagnesæmia Torsades

Report:

Sinus rhythm 51/min

Prolonged QT interval 0.56”

QTc 0.52”

Comment:

The patient had several admissions with alcohol-related illnesses, all of which featured hypokalæmia, hypomagnesæmia or both, with corresponding repolarisation abnormalities. On this occasion, however, she had no less than six arrests in VT/VF and it took two days to stabilise her in the CCU. Her ECG shows near-normal T waves and prolonged QTc. Multiple episodes of torsade de pointes in the CCU are shown on the following pages (284a, 284b). Many were treated with xylocaine, without any apparent effect.

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