Flecainide acetate in the acute and medium-term prophylactic treatment of 2 cases of ectopic atrial tachycardia
Tognarini, S.; Pardini, E.
Cardiologia 34(6): 567-570
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0393-1978 PMID: 2507142 Document Number: 337050
The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of flecainide acetate, which was administered intravenously, to induce cardioversion in 2 female patients of 48 and 76 years, with ectopic atrial tachycardia. Besides the clinical examination, ECG monitoring by radiotelemetry, chest x-ray, echocardiographic examination, thyroid tests and other routine hematochemical tests, we carried out an endocavitary electrophysiologic study, followed by pharmacologic tests in series: propranolol (5 mg/5 min iv), verapamil (5 mg/5 min iv) and flecainide (1.5 mg/kg/15 min iv). We confirmed the presumptive diagnosis of ectopic atrial tachycardia and that, among all the drugs tested, flecainide acetate was the only one restoring the sinus rhythm. In a medium-term follow-up, during which the patients were treated with flecainide, 100 mg twice-a-day, we didn't notice relapse of the tachycardia and the patients tolerated the drug well.