title: Persistent postoperative ventricular tachycardia treatment by using external cardiopulmonary support.
abstract: Drug-resistant incessant ventricular tachycardia (DRIVT) after cardiac surgery is a rare but almost always fatal event. Antiarrhythmic therapy seems to be ineffective and electrical cardioversion is of limited value when these patients present themselves with recurrent, sustained ventricular tachycardia. A patient with DRIVT in whom external cardiopulmonary support finally succeeded in bringing about resuscitation will be described in this article. The use of external cardiopulmonary support (CPS) should be considered in patients with this kind of malignant arrhythmia.
authors.affiliation: John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Hamid
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Azuma
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lau
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D005112:Extracorporeal Circulation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000628:therapy*; D012151:Resuscitation / Q000379:methods*; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000628:therapy*