Vernakalant Hydrochloride for the Rapid Conversion of Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery
Why the study?
Does vernakalant improve the rapid conversion of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter to sinus rhythm in patients after cardiac surgery?
Population
Patients with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter after coronary artery bypass graft, valvular surgery, or…
Comparison
Vernakalant 3 mg/kg via 10-minute infusion… vs Matching placebo infusions.
Design
RCT, 2:1, double-blind, placebo-controlled
Follow-up
90 minutes (efficacy), 24 hours (safety)
Authors
Discussion
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Member takes
Implication
Supports vernakalant for rapid postoperative AF conversion; confirms RCT efficacy in this surgical population.
Structured PICO
Does vernakalant improve the rapid conversion of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter to sinus rhythm in patients after cardiac surgery?
P
Population
Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFL) after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), valvular surgery, or both (n=150 AF patients explicitly quantified).
I
Intervention
Vernakalant 3 mg/kg via 10-minute infusion, followed by a second 10-minute infusion of 2 mg/kg if AF or AFL is present after a 15-minute observation period.
C
Comparator
Matching placebo infusions.
O
Outcome
Conversion of postcardiac surgery AF or AFL to sinus rhythm within 90 minutes of dosing.surrogate
Vernakalant is highly effective and safe for the rapid conversion of postoperative atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm, though it is ineffective for atrial flutter.
Cite This Study
Kowey et al. (2009) studied this question.