Prolonged T-peak to T-end Interval Predicts Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Therapy in Patients With Cardiac Sarcoidosis

Abstract

Background: The association between the T-peak to T-end interval (Tp-e) and ventricular arrhythmia (VA) events in cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Tp-e was associated with VA events in CS patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) or cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds). Methods and Results: We retrospectively studied 50 patients (16 men; mean [±SD] age 56.3±10.5 years) with CS and ICD/CRT-D. The maximum Tp-e in the precordial leads recorded by a 12-lead electrocardiogram after ICD/CRT-D implantation was evaluated. The clinical endpoint was defined as appropriate ICD therapy. During a median follow-up period of 85.0 months, 22 patients underwent appropriate therapy and 10 patients died. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the probability of the clinical endpoint was 28.3% at 2 years and 35.3% at 4 years. The optimal cut-off value of the Tp-e for the prediction of the clinical endpoint was 91 ms, with a sensitivity of 72.7% and a specificity of 87.0% (area under the curve=0.81). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that Tp-e ≥91 ms (hazard ratio [HR] 5.10; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.99-13.1; P<0.001) and a histological diagnosis of CS (HR 3.84; 95% CI 1.28-11.5; P=0.016) were significantly associated with the clinical endpoint. Conclusions: Tp-e ≥91 ms was a significant predictor of VA events in patients with CS and ICD/CRT-D.