Heart rate assessment after the first dose of Fingolimod

Resumo

Objective: To evaluate the cardiovascular function of patients who received the first dose of Fingolimod in a health center in the state of Rio Grande do Sul – Brazil. Methods: A retrospective database study, gathering clinical data and patients’ electrocardiograms who received the first dose of Fingolimod 0.5mg at Centro de Diagnóstico Cardiológico from May 2013 to October 2020. Results: From 83 patients evaluated 64 (77.1%) were women. The average age of participants was 36.97 (±11.21) years old. Out of the 22 (26.5%) symptomatic patients, drowsiness was the most common symptom. There was a statistically significant difference (p<0.0001) in the heart rate that occurred early from the first hour after taking the medicine and went on to the fifth hour. Regarding systolic blood pressure, there was a difference (p <0.0001) between the measurement before taking the drug and the measurement six hours later. However, there was no difference in systolic pressure every hour between the second hour after drug administration. The same that happened to systolic blood pressure occurred to diastolic blood pressure. There was no statistical correlation between the age group and the analyzed variables. Conclusions: The clinical, hemodynamic, and electrocardiographic changes verified in the study sample were mild and resolved within 6 hours after the dose, which allows the use of this drug to treat MS safely in the analyzed group.