Van Oekelen O, et al. - In this dual cross-sectional study strategy design, involving a retrospective study and a prospective study, researchers investigated the prevalence and clinical relevance of QT prolongation in acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD), with high risk for cardiac morbidity and mortality. They used univariate and multivariate analyses and Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression analyses. They found that factors significantly and independently associated with QTc prolongation were hypokalemia, cardiac troponin T and conductance abnormalities on ECG. A prolonged QTc was identified as a marker of underlying cardiovascular disease during an AECOPD. The observed link between prolonged QTc and increased all-cause mortality was found to be no longer significant when corrected for age, FEV₁ and cardiac troponin T. A prolonged QTc was commonly detected during the acute phase of a pulmonary disease requiring urgent hospital admission and it was not COPD-specific.