Does Azithromycin Cause QT Prolongation in Hospitalized Patients With Severe Community Acquired Pneumonia?

The macrolide group of antibiotics can cause QT prolongation, and endanger the patient with life threatening arrythmias. QT prolongation caused by Azythromycin, a relatively new macrolide, is extremely rare, and was not reported in clinical trials. Our hypothesis is that patients hospitalized with severe community acquired pneumonia, usually with multiple comorbid conditions will have a higher rate of QT prolongation, compared to the clinical trials published