- Joined
- Aug 12, 2015
- Messages
- 22
- Reaction score
- 13
This is an area of my practice that I struggled with for quite some time. It took 4 things to get myself to a spot where I can comfortably judge the significance of these drug interactions.
1. Understanding that the QTc is a number on a piece of paper, nothing more.
2. Make peace with the ECG and learn how to read and interpret it from a pharmacist’s point of view.
3. Read the ACC/AHA guidelines on the prevention of torsades in hospital settings.
4. Read the Top 100 Drug Interactions by Hansten and Horn.
I just made a podcast episode about this topic, and you can find it here: Pharmacyjoe.com/episode12
I'd love to know how you evaluate these interactions. Do you agree with ACC/AHA that amiodarone is not a torsades risk? I looked at this from a hospital pharmacist's point of view where I have access to the ECG, labs, etc... I imagine it would be quite different from a community pharmacist point of view where there is no monitoring, and you have no idea what the labs are. Do you use diuretic use as a surrogate measure of hypokalemia / hypomagnesemia?
1. Understanding that the QTc is a number on a piece of paper, nothing more.
2. Make peace with the ECG and learn how to read and interpret it from a pharmacist’s point of view.
3. Read the ACC/AHA guidelines on the prevention of torsades in hospital settings.
4. Read the Top 100 Drug Interactions by Hansten and Horn.
I just made a podcast episode about this topic, and you can find it here: Pharmacyjoe.com/episode12
I'd love to know how you evaluate these interactions. Do you agree with ACC/AHA that amiodarone is not a torsades risk? I looked at this from a hospital pharmacist's point of view where I have access to the ECG, labs, etc... I imagine it would be quite different from a community pharmacist point of view where there is no monitoring, and you have no idea what the labs are. Do you use diuretic use as a surrogate measure of hypokalemia / hypomagnesemia?