Torsades de pointes: Should ECG be taken from all patients before surgery? A case report

Torsades de pointes is a rare but potentially lethal arrhythmia which mainly occurs in the setting of a prolonged QT interval. ECG is a reliable tool to detect such abnormalities, routinely taken from all patients over 40 who undergo surgery. We describe the case of a 35-year-old woman with torsades de points arrhythmia after hysterectomy surgery. Most likely, our patients had long QT syndrome which has not already been detected. Surgery can elicit both acquired and unknown congenital long QT syndrome. Preoperative ECG is recommended even for people under 40 years to detect unknown congenital long QT syndrome.