UniSR, University of San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy
Research Article
Is Gender Associated to Extended Cardiac Monitoring after First Dose of Fingolimod and Level of Satisfaction with the Monitoring Experience in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Patients? A Post-hoc Analysis of the BEAT Study
Author(s): Delia Colombo, Emanuela Zagni*, Alessandra Ori, Nicola Montano, Giuseppe De Angelis and Emilio Vanoli
Objective: Fingolimod, a second-line therapy for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, may cause transitory effects on heart rate and atrioventricular conduction that may result in bradycardia and atrioventricular blocks, mainly following first administration; an ECG monitoring for at least 6 hours is therefore recommended, to be extended in case of bradycardia. The BEAT study showed that the dominance of cardiac vagal modulation, though not representing a risk factor for rhythm complications, can help identifying patients with higher probability to require extended monitoring.
Methods: This is a post-hoc analysis of the BEAT study, aimed at assessing the association between gender and need of extension of the ECG and gender differences in patients’ satisfaction with drug administration and monitoring experience.
Results:.. View More»