Serotonin norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitor (SNRI)-, selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (S-NRI)-, and exogenously administered norepinephrine-induced takotsubo syndrome: Analysis of published cases

Background: Takotsubo syndrome (TS) may be triggered by numerous physical stress factors including exogenous Norepinephrine administration. The aim of this study is to report on the clinical features and outcome of serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI)-, selective NRI (S-NRI)-, and exogenously administered norepinephrine-induced TS in a largest possible cohort of published cases.

Methods: A computer assisted search of the electronic data base Pubmed was performed from 1990 to August 2016. All cases deemed to have SNRI-, S-NRI-, and norepinephrine-induced TS were retrieved.

Results: Twenty two cases of SNRI-, S-NRI-, and norepinephrine-induced TS were retrieved from the literature. At presentation, the 22 patients with TS were 11 to 82years of age (mean age 49.9±20years). Seventeen of 21 (81%) of the patients were women. The most common presenting symptom was chest pain, which occurred in 59% of cases. The TS localization pattern was apical in 68%, mid-ventricular in 13.6%, basal in 13.6% and global in 4.5% of cases. Complications occurred in 7 of 22 (32%) with more complications in exogenously administered norepinephrine-induced TS (4 of 6, 66.7%) than SNRI-, and S-NRI-induced TS (3 of 16, 18, 8%) (p=0.054). All 4 male patients in the study developed complications. One patient (exogenous norepinephrine-induced TS) died during hospitalization.

Conclusion: The SNRI-, and S-NRI-induced TS have clinical features, complications and course comparable to that of all-TS population cohorts, whereas the exogenously administered norepinephrine-induced TS has a more dramatic clinical presentation and complication rates, which resembles that of exogenously administered epinephrine-induced TS.