ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Anthracyclines are important components of many chemotherapeutic protocols. The present study aimed to evaluate the repolarization changes in electrocardiography (ECG) which may predict drug induced arrhythmia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, the recorded ECGs were assessed for QT dispersion (QTd), QT corrected dispersion (QTcd), T peak to Tend dispersion (TPed), and P dispersion (Pd) in 12 ECG leads. The demographic information, including sex, age, and duration of drug consumption, were recorded, as well. RESULTS: In this study, 112 patients, including 58 females (52%) and 54 males (48%) with the mean age of 8.7±4.5 years, as the case group were compared with 43 children, including 17 males (40%) and 26 females (60%), in the control group. Most of our patients (88%) had received usual doses of anthracyclines; i.e., 330 mg/m2. QT dispersion of the patients and the controls was 0.054±0.02 and 0.05± 0.02 seconds, respectively. No significant difference was found between the patients and the controls regarding corrected QT dispersion (P> 0.05). However, P dispersion time had increased in the patients' group. Our study showed that the duration of anthracyclines therapy did not cause any significant increase in ventricular re-polarization parameters. CONCLUSION: Anthracyclines may show their cardiac toxicity through increasing P dispersion.
