We found that the size of the left atrium , presence of cardiovascular disease , and protocol s of amiodarone administration did not influence the magnitude of effect .
Serious adverse events were infrequent .
Amiodarone is effective for converting AF to sinus rhythm in a wide range of patients .
BACKGROUND Although clinicians sometimes choose amiodarone to convert atrial fibrillation ( AF ) to sinus rhythm , no current and comprehensive systematic review has summarized its effectiveness .
OBJECTIVE To review the effectiveness of amiodarone in converting AF to sinus rhythm over a 4-week period .
Acute treatment of recent-onset atrial fibrillation and flutter with a tailored dosing regimen of intravenous amiodarone. A randomized, digoxin-controlled study.
A 24 h intravenous dosing regimen of amiodarone was design ed to reach a peak plasma concentration at 1 h and to maintain the concentration above a certain level during the infusion period . A r and omized , open-label , digoxin-controlled study was undertaken to observe the efficacy and safety of the dosing regimen of amiodarone in treating recent-onset , persistent , atrial fibrillation and flutter with ventricular rates above 130 beats.min-1 . Fifty patients with a mean age of 70 + /- 7 ( SD ) years were enrolled and r and omly assigned to receive either amiodarone intravenously ( n = 26 ) or digoxin ( n = 24 ) . Amiodarone HCl was infused over 24 h according to the following regimen : 5 mg.min-1 , 3 mg.min-1 , 1 mg.min-1 and 0.5 mg.min-1 for 1 , 3 , 6 and 14 h , respectively , for a 70-kg subject . Digoxin ( 0.013 mg.kg-1 ) was infused in three divided doses , each dose 2 h apart and infused over 30 min . The mean heart rates in the amiodarone group decreased significantly from 157 + /- 20 beats.min-1 to 122 + /- 25 beats.min-1 after 1 h ( P < 0.05 vs baseline ) , and then decreased further to stabilize at 96 + /- 25 beats.min-1 after 6 h ( P < 0.05 ) . The digoxin group had fewer dramatic alterations in heart rates , compared to the amiodarone group , in the first 8 h ( P < 0.05 , respectively ) . Maximum reduction was reached only after 8 h. The amiodarone infusion was prematurely aborted in two patients due to severe bradycardia and death after conversion in one patient and aggravation of heart failure in the other . ( ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS
We found that the size of the left atrium , presence of cardiovascular disease , and protocol s of amiodarone administration did not influence the magnitude of effect .
Serious adverse events were infrequent .
Amiodarone is effective for converting AF to sinus rhythm in a wide range of patients .
BACKGROUND Although clinicians sometimes choose amiodarone to convert atrial fibrillation ( AF ) to sinus rhythm , no current and comprehensive systematic review has summarized its effectiveness .
OBJECTIVE To review the effectiveness of amiodarone in converting AF to sinus rhythm over a 4-week period .