SynthesisAnnals of noninvasive electrocardiology : the official journal of the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology, Inc2018
Efficacy and safety of intravenous vernakalant for the rapid conversion of recent-onset atrial fibrillation: A meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Annals of noninvasive electrocardiology : the official journal of the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology, Inc, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- External electrical and pharmacological cardioversion for atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter or atrial tachycardias: a network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of Early Pharmacologic Cardioversion vs. Non-early Cardioversion in the Patients With Recent-Onset Atrial Fibrillation Within 4-Week Follow-Up Period: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Vernakalant for cardioversion of recent-onset atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2019Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of intravenous vernakalant for the rapid conversion of recent-onset atrial fibrillation: A meta-analysis.Annals of noninvasive electrocardiology : the official journal of the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology, Inc · 2018Pooled it
- Treatment of supraventricular arrhythmias in critical care patients with sepsis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Review
- Practical compendium of antiarrhythmic drugs: a clinical consensus statement of the European Heart Rhythm Association of the European Society of Cardiology.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2025Review
- Perspectives of and Experience toward the Abuse of Antidiarrheal Drug (Loperamide) among Community Pharmacists: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Nano drugs delivery system: A novel promise for the treatment of atrial fibrillation.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2022Review
- Recent updates on novel therapeutic targets of cardiovascular diseases.Molecular and cellular biochemistry · 2021Review
- Revisiting Antiarrhythmic Drug Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation: Reviewing Lessons Learned and Redefining Therapeutic Paradigms.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2020Review
- Vernakalant in Atrial Fibrillation: A Relatively New Weapon in the Armamentarium Against an Old Enemy.Drug target insights · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAtrial fibrillation is a common cardiac arrhythmia with increasing prevalence in the aging population. It is a major cause of emergency department visits worldwide. Vernakalant, a relatively new antiarrhythmic drug with selectively preferential effects on the atrial tissue is currently used in many European countries for the termination of recent-onset atrial fibrillation. Presently, the drug is still not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration due to safety concerns. We evaluate the efficacy and safety of vernakalant for the conversion of recent-onset atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter into normal sinus rhythm (NSR).
methodsPubMed/MEDLINE (1993-2017), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (2000-2017), and reference lists of relevant articles were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing vernakalant to a control drug and extracted subsequently.
resultsNine RCTs were identified and included in the meta-analysis. Pooled analysis of events extracted for a total of 1421 patients with recent-onset atrial fibrillation showed a statistically significant increase in cardioversion within 90 minutes from drug infusion (Relative Risk [RR], 6.61; 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 2.78 - 15.71; p < .00001). In terms of adverse events, vernakalant was considered safe in comparison to control drugs (RR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.61-1.05; p = .11).
conclusionVernakalant is effective for rapid conversion of recent-onset atrial fibrillation into NSR. However, although it showed a safe profile in terms of side effects in this analysis, we are still hesitant about this conclusion and few safety issues should be addressed within specific patients' subgroups.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.