Objective: To determine frequency of QTc interval prolongation in hepatitis C infection. To compare QTc interval prolongation in patients with cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis c infectionStudy design: Descriptive Case SeriesSetting: Medical Unit-III, Fauji Foundation Hospital, RawalpindiDuration of study: 06 months duration of study i.e 10th May, 2017 to 10th Nov, 2017Methodology: Patients having chronic hepatitis c infection with cirrhosis was taken from medical ward and non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis c infection was taken from general medical OPD. Consent was taken. For QTc interval calculation ECG was performed by ECG technician having 22 years of experience as ECG technician in Fauji Foundation Hospital Rawalpindi. Information was recorded on the form. The variable of interest was age, gender, cirrhosis, QTc interval and comparison of prolongation of QTc between hepatitis c positive cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients.
Results: Total 110 patients were included according to the inclusion criteria of the study. Mean age (years) in the study was 56.84+11.05. There were 48 (43.6) male and 62 (56.4) female patients who were included in the study according to the inclusion criteria. Mean duration of QTc interval was 0.48+0.04. Out of 110 patients, there were 27 (24.5) patients who have prolonged QTc interval. The frequency of QTc interval prolongation in patients with cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis C infection was 22 (57.9) and 05 (6.9) respectively which was statistically significant (p-value 0.000).Conclusion: The study concludes that QTc interval prolongation in cirrhotic patients was high which showed that cirrhotic patients are at risk of developing ventricular arrhythmias due to cardiomyopathy, so a simple ECG test can be used to diagnose and prevent cardiac events in cirrhotic patients as it is simple as well as easily available.Keywords: Cirrhosis, Hepatitis C, Prolonged QT interval, non-cirrhotic Chronic Hepatitis C Infectio
