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Biomedical subjects

R Dhurandhar

Publications and source records attributed to R Dhurandhar.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Efficacy of esmolol in the treatment and transfer of patients with supraventricular tachyarrhythmias to alternate oral antiarrhythmic agents.

The efficacy and safety of esmolol, a titratable intravenous beta-adrenergic blocking agent with a short elimination half-life (t 1/2 = 9.0 min) was evaluated in a multicenter open-label study for the treatment of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias (heart rate greater than 100 bpm). The study also investigated the feasibility of transferring patients from esmolol to alternate oral antiarrhythmic agents without loss of therapeutic response. Of the 113 patients studied, 95 (84%) achieved therapeutic response (reduction in heart rate of 15% or more or conversion to sinus rhythm). Most of these patients (93%) achieved the therapeutic response at esmolol doses of 200 micrograms/kg/min or lower. Transfer from esmolol to an oral antiarrhythmic agent(s) was studied in 76 patients. Alternate antiarrhythmic agents used in this study were digoxin (N = 25), propranolol (N = 21), verapamil (N = 10), metoprolol (N = 11), quinidine (N = 2), and a combination of two antiarrhythmic agents (N = 7). Sixty-seven (88%) patients were successfully transferred to oral antiarrhythmic agents without loss of the therapeutic response obtained with esmolol. The most frequent adverse effect observed during the study was hypotension, which resolved quickly (16 +/- 14 min) either by decreasing the dose or by discontinuation of esmolol infusion. This study supports previous observations concerning the safety and efficacy of esmolol in the treatment of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the majority of patients successfully treated with esmolol can be safely and effectively transferred to oral therapy with alternate antiarrhythmic agents.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists

Reduction of ventricular ectopic beats with oral acebutolol: a double-blind, randomized crossover study.

The antiarrhythmic efficacy of oral acebutolol, a new cardioselective beta-blocking agent, was assessed in a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Twenty-five patients with greater than or equal to 30 ventricular ectopic beats (VEB) per hour on three control ambulatory monitorings were studied. Mean VEB reduction from the control period was 35% with placebo and 45% and 50% with the use of acebutolol 200 mg and 400 mg, respectively. Eleven patients had greater than or equal to 70% reduction in VEB with acebutolol and nine of them had greater than or equal to 90 VEB reduction. Among these 11 patients, the mean VEB suppression was 51% after placebo but significantly higher following the two doses of acebutolol at 71% (p less than 0.05) and 86% (p less than 0.01). The mean reduction of paired VEB compared to placebo was 71% (p less than 0.05) and 75% (p less than 0.01) following 200 mg and 400 mg of acebutolol and only 49% after placebo. Complete suppression of paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia was also noted in five patients. Mean PR interval only increased slightly when patients took 400 mg of acebutolol, but there was no significant change in either the QRS or QTc intervals. A significant decrease in heart rate from that during control periods was noted after acebutolol. No significant adverse reactions were noted during the study. Acebutolol appears to be an effective and well-tolerated antiarrhythmic agent in the treatment of VEB and higher grades of ventricular ectopy.

Acebutolol

Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy and coronary artery spasm.

Three patients had hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy and coronary artery spasm. The clinical diagnosis of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, in all patients, was confirmed by echocardiography and angiography. Significant spasm of the right coronary artery was demonstrated in each patient by selective coronary arteriography. One patient had atherosclerotic obstructive three vessel disease, while the other two showed no evidence of any fixed organic narrowing of the coronary arteries. ST segment elevation in the inferior ECG leads was documented in two of the patients in association with coronary spasm.

Cardiomegaly

Aortocoronary bypass: early results of operations in community hospitals of greater New Orleans.

All 588 aortocoronary bypass operations performed in the community hospitals of greater New Orleans before 1974 are reported. Hospital mortality averaged 8.7% (4.3% for one bypass; 6.4% for two; 10.3% for three or more; 26% when bypass was combined with another cardiac procedure). Mortality ranged from 5% to 31% among ten surgical groups and from 0 to 20% among seven community hospitals. Men over 60 had excessive mortality (25%). The incidence of major nonfatal complications (myocardial infarction in 12.8% of patients, intraventricular conduction defects in 9.6%, significant arrhythmias in 10.7%, and complications requiring reoperation in 9.5%) also varied with the surgical group, the complexity of the procedure, the patient's age, and the hospital. As determined by these four factors, results of bypass operations in the community hospitals of greater New Orleans ranged from excellent to poor.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac