Ventricular fibrillation after intravenous atropine in a patient with atrioventricular block.
A 69-year-old black woman with complete AV block developed ventricular fibrillation following an IV injection of 1 mg of atropine sulphate. After a successful DC countershock, the ECG showed a polymorphous ventricular tachycardia which subsided spontaneously. Cardiac catheterization revealed a small left ventricular diverticulum and normal coronary arteries. This seems to be the first reported case of atropine-induced ventricular fibrillation in a patient with complete AV block. The fact that this occurred without previous change of the ventricular rate suggests that the adverse action of atropine was mediated through a mere vagolytic effect at the ventricular level.
D000368:Aged; D001285:Atropine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006327:Heart Block / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis
D001285:Atropine