Crack Cocaine-Induced Cardiac Conduction Abnormalities Are Reversed by Sodium Bicarbonate Infusion
Figure 1
The electrocardiogram (ECG) observed in a 19-year-old man that ingested large amount of crack cocaine (±40 grams) in a suicide attempt. The ECG showed sinus tachycardia with significant widening of QRS (200 ms), significant increase in R wave amplitude in aVR (8.0 mV), QTc interval prolongation (510 ms), and right-axis deviation of the terminal 40 ms vector of the QRS complex in the frontal plane (210°) during the initial evaluation (a), and gradual decrease in QRS duration (100 ms), in R wave amplitude in aVR (4.0 mV), in the QTc interval (428 ms), and in right-axis deviation of the terminal 40 ms vector of the QRS complex in the frontal plane (150°) after intravenous sodium bicarbonate infusion (b).
