Phenothiazine-Induced T-Wave Abnormalities

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Abstract
Effects of overnight fasting and potassium salts given orally (10 gm) on phenothiazine-induced repolarization abnormalities were evaluated in 100 psychiatric patients. Overnight fasting resulted in complete normalization of the electrocardiograms of 57 patients, while the remainder were corrected by potassium administration. The mean serum potassium level was significantly higher for the group that normalized with fasting alone. These results are explainable by a combined phenothiazine- and glucose-induced increase in the intracellular-extracellular ratio of potassium, an important factor in the genesis of repolarization abnormalities.