Modifiable QTc Prolongation Risk Factors in Non-elderly Arizona Complete Health Members

Class of 2022 Abstract, Report and PosterSpecific Aims: The goal of this study was to evaluate the association of QTc prolongation risks including drug, laboratory and disease factors with premature, unexplained death in an outpatient population. Methods: This was a retrospective claims data review determining if there is a correlation between sudden death and high QTc risk in our small sample population. Subjects included in this study were Arizona Complete Health Medicaid members under 65 years old, with either an accidental death, death from an unknown cause, or natural death from an unknown cause in 2020. ANOVA was used to compare data for cardiac death and QTc prolonging drugs. The a priori alpha level was 0.05. Results: This study included 237 patients (default age of 50 years old, default gender male) and a QTc risk score was calculated for each patient. Regarding member categories, most of the patients (62.5%) were categorized as patients with serious mental illness (SMI), followed by 20.3% categorized as general mental health (GMH), 16.5% as substance abuse (SA), and 0.84% having both GMH and SA. Conclusion: There was no correlation between sudden death and a high QTc risk score in our small sample population. Our findings indicate that larger sample size is needed in order to better determine if there is a correlation between sudden death and high QTc risk.This item is part of the Pharmacy Student Research Projects collection, made available by the College of Pharmacy and the University Libraries at the University of Arizona. For more information about items in this collection, please contact Jennifer Martin, Librarian and Clinical Instructor, Pharmacy Practice and Science, jenmartin@email.arizona.edu