Incidence of various cardiac arrhythmias and conduction disturbances due to high dose intravenous methylprednisolone in patients with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: High-dose intravenous methylprednisolone is the most common therapeutic modality to treat acute exacerbations in multiple sclerosis (MS). Various cardiac arrhythmias have been reported during corticosteroid pulse therapy. This study was conducted to detect cardiac rhythm changes in patients with MS while receiving high dose methylprednisolone.
METHODS: We enrolled 52 consecutive MS patients with acute relapse to perform cardiac monitoring 4h before, during and 18 h after infusion of 1000 mg intravenous (IV) methylprednisolone.
RESULTS: Sinus tachycardia was the most common change in cardiac rhythms before, during, and after corticosteroid pulse therapy. Up to 41.9% of the patients, developed sinus bradycardia after pulse infusion. Sinus arrest and sinus exit block were observed in 12 patients. Atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia were observed in three patients and one patient, respectively. The most important cardiac arrhythmias including ventricular tachycardia, sinus arrest, and sinus exit block, were correlated with smoking and more commonly observed during 12h post infusion. Sinus bradycardia and atrial fibrillation were detected more commonly in patients with history of urinary dysfunction.
CONCLUSION: High dose intravenous prednisolone might cause different types of arrhythmias in MS patients. Cigarette smokers and patients with autonomic disturbances like sphincter and bowel problems have more chance to develop arrhythmias while receiving high dose steroids.