MedPage Today (8/29, DePeau-Wilson) reports, “Therapeutic doses of some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may lead to cardiotoxic concentration levels associated with increased risk of arrhythmia in certain groups of patients, including those 65 and up,” investigators concluded in the findings of a 19,742-patient study published online ahead of print in the journal eBioMedicine. For the study, “patients had to have a” therapeutic drug monitoring “measurement of escitalopram or citalopram within the limits of quantification for inclusion.” The study revealed that in “patients 65 and over taking escitalopram (Lexapro) daily, about 20% were predicted to reach potentially pro-arrhythmic concentrations with a 10-mg dose, which increased to about 60% with a 20-mg dose.”
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