Synthetic opioids and arrhythmia risk: a new paradigm?

The most commonly prescribed class of medications in the United States for chronic severe pain is opioid analgesics. Due to their low cost and widespread availability, the synthetic opioids are popular choices among clinicians and patients. However, there is an increasingly recognized risk of QT prolongation with several drugs in this class, and recently propoxyphene (Darvon) was withdrawn from the market by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to, in part, the risk of QT prolongation and ventricular arrhythmias Updated Epidemiological Review of Propoxyphene Safety. [FDA Alert]. Rockville, MD: U.S. Food and Drug Administration; 2010. Available from: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/UCM234383.pdf on 5 May 2012 .