Why the study?
Does long-term mexiletine therapy cause serious side-effects in patients with ventricular arrhythmias?
Does long-term mexiletine therapy cause serious side-effects in patients with ventricular arrhythmias?
Long-term mexiletine therapy is well tolerated for the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias, with side effects correlating closely with serum drug levels.
May support mexiletine consideration in select ventricular arrhythmia cases; leaves open confirmation of long-term safety in controlled trials.
Maxiletine, a new drug effective in the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias, was given to 20 patients for approximately 2 years. The study was designed to investigate the nature and prevalence of side-effects during long-term therapy, and the degree of correlation between such effects and the serum levels of the drug. The methodology used to determine the serum level is described. Mexiletine was well tolerated and serious side-effects were not seen. In particular, antinuclear factor was not detected during the treatment period. The serum level of mexiletine was easily maintained within the therapeutic range, and most side-effects correlated closely with the drug level. Mexiletine appears to be an effective alternative to currently available antiarrhythmic agents.
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Stavenow et al. (1979) studied this question.
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