ANALYSIS OF EFFECT OF THE ANTIDEPRESSANT SERTALINE ON THE LEGHT OF QT INTERVAL IN PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE

Abstract

Introduction and Aim:  Depression in psychiatry covers a large area of mental pathology and it is one of the most complex problems of modern medicine with broad implications for the health of the individual and the society as a whole. Depression is also a frequent companion of alcohol addiction. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the antidepressant drug sertaline on the lenght of QT interval in depressed patients with alcohol dependence. Patients and methods : This research included male patients (older than 18 years of age) suffering from alcohol addiction, who were also diagnosed with depression, that is, depressive disorder,at the beginnig of hospitalisation, on the basis of DSM-IV (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders) criterion and positive Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD). The study included 49 patients treated wit antidepressant sertaline for 20 days. In our study, the global QTc interval (12 leads) was determined automatically by applying ECG device of the producer and type "Schiller Cardiovit AT-1"which uses "SCHILLER  ECG Measurement and Interpretation Software for Children and Adults ECGs". Measured empirical values of data were statistically processed in SPSS 16.0 programme package for Windows. Methods of descriptive statistics and methods of statistic testing of hypotheses were used. Results : In our study, in spite of the vulnerability of patients due to the heart damage and the lyver dysfunction arising from alcohol consumption, as well as altered patients drugs metabolism, no elongation of QTc interval resulting from the application of sertaline was established (p=0.735). The average prolongation of QTc interval of 1.633 ms was observed (95% CI =8.005 ms, 11.270 ms). Conclusion :Our study does not indicate that the antidepressant drug sertaline has a statistically significant effect on the prolongation of the QT interval of depressed patients with alcohol dependence.