Why the study?
Vernakalant has an atrial-specific multi-ion channel profile that may enhance efficacy, but safety concerns from its diverse pharmacology prompted a review of its place in clinical practice.
What is the clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of intravenous vernakalant for the restoration of sinus rhythm in acute onset atrial fibrillation?
What is the clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of intravenous vernakalant for the restoration of sinus rhythm in acute onset atrial fibrillation?
This review evaluates the clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of vernakalant to clarify its role in clinical practice for acute onset atrial fibrillation.
Vernakalant is an intravenous anti-arrhythmic drug available in Europe, Canada and some countries in Asia for the restoration of sinus rhythm in acute onset atrial fibrillation. Currently, it is not available in USA because the US FDA have ongoing concerns about its safety. Vernakalant has a unique pharmacological profile of multi-ion channel activity and atrial-specificity that distinguishes it from other anti-arrhythmic drugs. This is thought to enhance efficacy but there are concerns of adverse events stemming from its diverse pharmacology. This ambiguity has prompted a review of the available clinical evidence on efficacy and safety to help re-evaluate its place in clinical practice.
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Ritchie et al. (2020) studied this question.
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