Electrocardiographic alterations in patients hospitalized with leptospirosis in the Brazilian city of Salvador.

Objective: To report the frequency and types of electrocardiographic alterations in patients with leptospirosis in the first 24 hours of hospitalization.

Methods: We analyzed the electrocardiograms of 157 patients admitted to the Hospital Couto Maia in the city of Salvador, in the State of Bahia, Brazil, from March 1998 to June 1999. The electrocardiograms were performed in the first 24 hours after hospital admission, independent of the clinical manifestations of the patients.