Verapamil in the treatment of asystolic and pulseless idioventricular rhythm cardiopulmonary arrests: a preliminary report.
A randomized, double-blinded study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the calcium antagonist verapamil in patients in cardiopulmonary arrest with asystole or pulseless idioventricular rhythm (PIVR). Twenty-one such patients presenting to the emergency department received either verapamil (10 mg) or normal saline placebo in an intravenous bolus as initial therapy. They were then treated according to standard American Heart Association guidelines with the exception that calcium was not used. If these rhythms persisted after ten minutes, a second bolus of verapamil or saline was given. Resuscitation was successful in two of ten patients (20%) receiving verapamil and in one of 11 patients (9%) receiving placebo. This similar outcome (P = .462) in this small series suggests that verapamil may not add to successful resuscitation in these patients. Additional studies are needed to define the role of calcium and its antagonists in the treatment of asystole and PIVR.
D000368:Aged; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011674:Pulse; D011897:Random Allocation; D012151:Resuscitation; D014700:Verapamil / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D014700:Verapamil