Effectiveness of Verapamil-Quinidine Versus Digoxin-Quinidine in the Emergency Department Treatment of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

Recent Advances in Drug Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation

“…The clinical benefits of Ca 2+ channel blockers are not clear, and contrasting results have been reported. The combination of verapamil and quinidine was much more effective than digoxin and quinidine in converting patients with new‐onset AF 87 . In patients with persistent AF undergoing electrical cardioversion, verapamil added to sotalol or a Class I drug can effectively reduce recurrences 88,89 .…”

Sinus rhythm maintenance following DC cardioversion of atrial fibrillation is not improved by temporary precardioversion treatment with oral verapamil

“…34 Several other studies have also compared digoxin with verapamil. 21 35 36 Doses of study drug Low tolerance to high doses of verapamil can potentially limit the beneficial effects of the drug. We aimed at achieving calcium channel blockage by treating patients with a maximum of 240 mg twice daily.…”

“…[12][13][14][15][16][17][18] The planning of this study was based on the theoretical knowledge of atrial remodelling gained from experimental investigations and limited clinical studies. [19][20][21][22] Its aim was to compare in a patient group the effects of pretreatment with oral verapamil on sinus rhythm maintenance after direct current (DC) cardioversion of chronic AF with a control group in which ventricular rate control was achieved with digoxin.…”

Atrial Fibrillation: A Review of the Management in the Emergency Department

“…A recent study demonstrated superiority of verapamil/quinidine over digoxin/quinidine in converting AF in the emergency department. 21 There has been considerable interest in the new type III antiarrhythmic ibutilide, 22 which can be administered intravenously and has a very short half-life. Its use resulted in the successful conversion of AF in 44%-49% of patients, with a mean conversion time of 27 minutes.…”