COVID-19 Infection and Corrected QT Interval Prolongation—Collateral Damage From Our Newest Enemy
Susan P. Etheridge, S. Yukiko Asaki
Abstract
Unimagined a few short months ago, SARS-CoV-2 has spread rapidly across the globe to cause a worldwide pandemic, unparalleled since the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic. Deaths in the United States due to COVID-19 surpassed 500 000 in February 2021. The extraordinary efficiency in person-to-person transmission and the relatively high level of morbidity and mortality represent the perfect storm of an emerging infectious disease. 1 New York City was among the original US epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, it is fitting that the article by Rubin et al 2 featured elsewhere in JAMA Network Open originates from this epicenter. Uniquely and because of early contact with this virus, the authors were able to compare a population of hospitalized adult patients who tested positive for COVID-19 with those who ultimately tested negative. This is a large and important study that assessed the association of COVID-19 infection with the QT interval.