Auricular Fibrillation

During the ten years following the introduction of quinidine 1 for the restoration of normal rhythm in cases of auricular fibrillation, ample opportunity has been afforded for the clinical and experimental study of this drug. To date more than 1,000 cases of permanent auricular fibrillation in which this treatment was used have been reported in the literature. 2 There can no longer be any doubt concerning the efficacy of quinidine in certain cases of absolute arrhythmia; its value in such cases justifies its continued use. We herein report a follow-up study of a series presented by one of us (P. D. W.) five years ago, 3 and we also present a new series of cases collected since that time. OLD SERIES (1923) In 1923, Viko, Marvin and White 3 reported seventy-one cases of nonparoxysmal auricular fibrillation and four cases of auricular flutter from the Massachusetts General Hospital and the New Haven Hospital: in 68