| Summary: | (1) Background: We assessed the effect of moxifloxacin on heart rate, and reviewed the heart rate effects of other antibiotics; (2) Methods: A total of 335 normal volunteers had 12-lead electrocardiograms recorded at multiple time points before and during treatment with moxifloxacin and with placebo in seven consecutive, thorough QT studies of crossover design; (3) Results: The average baseline heart rate across the seven studies was 61.5 bpm. The heart rate after moxifloxacin dosing was analyzed at five time points shared by all seven studies (hours 1, 2, 3, 12 and 24). The maximum mean heart rate (HR) increase for the seven studies combined was 2.4 bpm (95% CI 1.6, 3.3) at hour 2. The range of mean maximum increases among the seven studies was 2.1 to 4.3 bpm. For the seven studies combined, the increase was statistically significant at all but the 24 h time point. The maximum observed individual increase in HR was 36 bpm and the mean maximum increase was 30 ± 4.1 bpm by time point and 8 ± 6.9 bpm by subject. Many antibiotics increase HR, some several-fold more than moxifloxacin. However, clinicians and clinical investigators give little attention to this potential adverse effect in the medical literature; (4) Conclusions: The observed moxifloxacin-induced increase in HR is large enough to be clinically relevant, and it is a potentially important confounder in thorough QT studies using moxifloxacin as an active control. More attention to heart rate effects of antibiotics is warranted.
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