BEPRIDIL AND TORSADE-DE-POINTES - ARE THE PRECAUTIONS OF USE RESPECTED

The torsades de pointes with bepridil are serious side-effects, known right from 1982, and for which definite therapeutic recommendations we re decreed in 1984 then in 1991. The observations of 7 new cases drove us to discuss about the respect for these recommendations. From the s tudy of these 7 middle-aged patients (+/- esm) 76.9 +/- 2.4, we have n oticed that they all combined 3 risk-factors at least with an average (+/- esm) 3.71 +/- 0.29 (range 3 - 5). The non-respect for the methods of prescription of bepridil leads to serious trouble in the rate of h eartbeat and can threaten vital prognosis. So, if is advisable for the practicians to be warmly and precisely informed and prescribe another anti-angina-pectoris treatment in high risk-patients.