August 27, 1981New England Journal of Medicine
Oral Flecainide Acetate for the Treatment of Ventricular Arrhythmias
Why the study?
Does oral flecainide acetate reduce premature ventricular complexes in patients with chronic ventricular ectopy?
Population
13 patients with chronic ventricular ectopy
Comparison
Oral flecainide acetate vs Placebo control period (baseline)
Design
Cohort
Follow-up
2 weeks
Authors
Discussion
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Implication
Supports short-term PVC suppression by flecainide in chronic ectopy; leaves open randomized confirmation of safety and efficacy.
Key Points
- The study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral flecainide acetate in treating ventricular arrhythmias.
- Conducted a controlled short-term dosage-maintenance study with patients suffering from chronic ventricular ectopy.
- Patients transitioned from a placebo control period to drug therapy based on frequency of PVCs.
- Measured PVC suppression and monitored various cardiac intervals and echocardiographic findings.
- Ninety-eight point three percent PVC suppression was achieved with a mean effective dose of 189 mg per 12 hours.
- Nine out of ten patients completed the trial with significant improvement, and an average PVC suppression of 94.6% was maintained at two weeks.
- The elimination half-life of flecainide was 18.8 hours, confirming favorable pharmacokinetics.
Structured PICO
Does oral flecainide acetate reduce premature ventricular complexes in patients with chronic ventricular ectopy?
P
Population
13 patients with chronic ventricular ectopy (11 with persistent, frequent premature ventricular complexes >600 per 12 hours advanced to drug therapy)
I
Intervention
Oral flecainide acetate (mean effective dose 189 mg per 12 hours)
C
Comparator
Placebo control period (baseline)
O
Outcome
Premature ventricular complex (PVC) suppressionsurrogate
Oral flecainide acetate is highly effective and well-tolerated for suppressing premature ventricular complexes in patients with chronic ventricular ectopy.
Cite This Study
Anderson et al. (1981) studied this question.