title: Efficacy and safety of intravenous tocainide compared with intravenous lidocaine for acute ventricular arrhythmias immediately after cardiac surgery.
abstract: In this double-blind parallel study, 99 patients with acute ventricular tachyarrhythmias after open-heart surgery were given either tocainide (50 patients) or lidocaine (49 patients) intravenously as 2 bolus injections 15 minutes apart, plus a fixed-rate infusion that started at the first bolus. If needed, a third bolus was administered and simultaneously the infusion rate was doubled. The boluses and initial infusion rate for tocainide treatment were, respectively, 250, 250 and 125 mg and 1.04 mg/min, and for lidocaine treatment, 100, 50 and 50 mg and 2.08 mg/min. When efficacy was defined as 80% or greater reduction in single ventricular premature complexes (VPCs) or complete abolition of ventricular couplets or ventricular tachycardia, no difference in efficacy between the 2 treatments was found by bedside electrocardiographic monitoring. By computer analysis of 24-hour taped electrocardiograms and a regression analysis of the proportion of patients responding favorably to treatment, it was estimated that an 80% or greater reduction of single VPCs occurred in 55% of patients during tocainide treatment and in 48% of patients during lidocaine treatment; abolition of couplets occurred in 74% and 68% of patients, respectively; and abolition of ventricular tachycardia in 87% and 73% of patients, respectively. These treatment-related differences were different (p less than 0.004). Adverse reactions occurred in 5 patients (10%) given tocainide (hypotension in 4; junctional rhythm in 1 patient; and nausea-vomiting in 1) and led to discontinuation of treatment in 3 patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles; D006801:Humans; D007263:Infusions, Parenteral; D008012:Lidocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D011897:Random Allocation; D016677:Tocainide
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; D016677:Tocainide; D008012:Lidocaine