Effect of ziprasidone on QTc interval in Chinese patients with schizophrenia

Objective: To investigate the effect of ziprasidone on QTc in Chinese patients with schizophrenia. Methods: The study involved 27 patients with schizophrenia. Ziprasidone was initiated with 40 mg/day. From day 3 to day 7, the dose was increased gradually to 120-160 mg/d according to the effectiveness and tolerability. QTc values were measured at the beginning and month 6. Results: At the beginning of the 6 months treatment, the mean QTc interval of patients was(387.5±19.0) ms. At the end of the study, it was(402.9±23.6) ms. The difference has statistically significance(P0.05). The mean QTc interval changed significantly throughout 6-months period but no one exceed the QTc dangerous limits. Significant correlation was found between QTc interval and the dose. Conclusion: In summary, our results suggest that ziprasidone has good tolerance in patient with schizophrenia despite its dose-related QTc prolongation. Ziprasidone have no pro-arrhythmic profile.