Dofetilide comparable to amiodarone for rhythm control in AF patients

Written By : Medha Baranwal |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2021-04-15T02:30:41+05:30 | Updated On 19 Oct 2023 12:16 PM IST

USA: The efficacy of dofetilide (DOF) is as good as amiodarone (AMIO) for rhythm control in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, finds a recent study in the journal JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology.

The comparative efficacy of DOF versus AMIO in AF patients is not well established. In addition, proarrhythmia has been a concern with DOF therapy. Ghanshyam Shantha, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, and colleagues aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of dofetilide versus amiodarone in AF patients.

For this purpose, the researchers attempted rhythm control using DOF in 657 consecutive patients with AF (n=528) or atrial flutter and AF (n=129) between January 2014 and December 2018.

Also Read: DOACs Better than Warfarin in Patients with Valvular Atrial Fibrillation, finds study

Key findings of the study include:

DOF was successfully initiated in 573 (87%) of 657 patients, including 510 (89%) with persistent AF and 63 (11%) with paroxysmal AF.
During a mean follow-up of 19 ± 7 months, sinus rhythm was maintained in 361 (63%) of the 573 DOF-treated patients.
At 12 months, patients on DOF had a similar likelihood of experiencing recurrent atrial arrhythmias compared with the 2,476 consecutive patients treated with AMIO for rhythm control during the study period (37% vs. 39%).
The efficacy of DOF and AMIO was also similar in specific subgroups of patients, including patients >75 years of age, with a low left ventricular ejection fraction, obesity, renal insufficiency, and prior catheter ablation for AF.
Among patients with atypical atrial flutter, likelihood of recurrent atrial flutter was similar between the DOF (43 of 108 [40%]) and AMIO (211 of 555 [38%]) groups.

"When properly initiated and monitored, DOF has efficacy comparable to that of amiodarone for rhythm control in patients with AF," concluded the authors.

Also Read: AF recurrence after non cardiac surgery tied to risk of bleeding and death: Study

Reference:

The study titled, "Comparative Efficacy of Dofetilide Versus Amiodarone in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation," is published in the journal JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology.

DOI: https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacep.2020.11.027

JACCdofetilideatrial fibrillationrhythm controlamiodarone

Source : JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology

Medha Baranwal

MSc. Biotechnology

Medha Baranwal joined Medical Dialogues as an Editor in 2018 for Speciality Medical Dialogues. She covers several medical specialties including Cardiac Sciences, Dentistry, Diabetes and Endo, Diagnostics, ENT, Gastroenterology, Neurosciences, and Radiology. She has completed her Bachelors in Biomedical Sciences from DU and then pursued Masters in Biotechnology from Amity University. She has a working experience of 5 years in the field of medical research writing, scientific writing, content writing, and content management. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751