Incidence of early adverse events surrounding direct current cardioversion of persistent atrial fibrillation. A cohort study of practices.
OBJECTIVE
To establish the incidence of early adverse events surrounding direct current (DC) cardioversion of persistent atrial fibrillation in an unselected patient cohort and to describe and analyse these complications.


METHODS
Prospective study over a three-month period (February, March and April 2000). Outcome measures included all serious adverse events during the hospitalisation for DC cardioversion. Six hundred and eighty-four DC cardioversion were performed on 659 patients.


RESULTS
The rate of adverse events was 4.4% including 1.3% bradycardia, 0.3% ventricular arrhythmia, 0.3% QT increase, 1% serious haemorrhages, 0.4% death and 1.2% miscellaneous adverse events.


CONCLUSIONS
The perceived tolerance to DC cardioversion in atrial fibrillation should be amended with the 4.4% serious early adverse events.
Guédon-Moreau
Laurence
L
Department of Pharmacology University, Lille, France.
Gayet
Jean-Louis
JL
Galinier
Michel
M
Frances
Yves
Y
Lardoux
Hervé
H
Libersa
Christian
C
D000368:Aged; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D001919:Bradycardia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004554:Electric Countershock / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008133:Long QT Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome