Related Experiment Videos
Case report of a syncopal episode associated with fluoxetine
L E McAnally1, K R Threlkeld, C A Dreyling
1St. Anthony Hospital, Oklahoma City, OK 73101.
Objective:
To report a syncopal episode associated with fluoxetine in a young, relatively healthy man.
Design:
Single case report.
Setting:
585-bed private hospital.
Patient:
A 30-year-old man with hypertension, esophageal ulcers, and syncope of recent onset.
Results:
Fluoxetine was started six weeks prior to the syncopal episode in this patient, and is the medication most temporally associated with the event. Because the patient had a normal neurologic examination and electroencephalogram, but an abnormal electrocardiogram on admission and one month after discharge, the syncopal episode was most likely caused by cardiovascular effects of fluoxetine.
Conclusions:
Fluoxetine has been reported to cause cardiac conduction abnormalities in otherwise normal individuals. Bradycardia secondary to a direct effect of fluoxetine, or to a drug interaction among fluoxetine, ranitidine, and enalapril is the most likely explanation for this patient's syncopal episode.