Astemizole-induced torsades de pointes in a patient with vasospastic angina

Astemizole (Hismanal), an antihistamine agent, has been reported to be associated with ventricular arrhythmias. In this paper we present a case of QT prolongation and torsades de pointes (TdP) in a 77-year-old woman who had been taking astemizole (10 mg/day) for 6 months because of allergic skin disease. At the time of admission, the serum concentration of astemizole and its metabolites was markedly elevated at 15.85 ng/ml, approximately 3 times the normal level. The patient was also taking cimetidine, a known inhibitor of cytochrome P-450 enzymatic activity, and during her admission was diagnosed as having vasospastic angina. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of astemizole-induced QT prolongation and TdP in Japan.