Recent studies on ECG changes, antipsychotic use and sudden death in psychiatric patients

Cardiac Risk of Psychotropic Drugs

“…There is now an emerging body of evidence to indicate that the potential dangers of thioridazine [2−4] may indeed be excessive compared to those posed by other antipsychotics. We agree with Dr Firestone that the positioning of trifluoperazine within our table has the potential to cause controversy, but we note that the report of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Psychopharmacology Working Group on the association between antipsychotic drugs and sudden death (1997) [5] also listed triflu­operazine on page 16 of the report as a drug known to prolong the QT interval of the ECG.…”