Arrythmia

Cardiovascular hospitalization and length of stay declined significantly in patients with paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation or flutter treated with dronedarone (Multaq), a post hoc analysis of a large randomized trial showed.

First cardiovascular hospitalization occurred in 26% fewer patients treated with dronedarone versus placebo, and the rate of hospitalization for Afib was almost 40% lower with dronedarone. The total number of hospital days associated with Afib was reduced by about one third, including a significant reduction in the number of ICU/CCU days.

The trial involved 4,628 patients who had a mean age of 71.6 and were followed for 21 to 22 months.

Overall, 675 first cardiovascular hospitalizations occurred in the dronedarone group compared with 859 in the placebo group, which translated into a hazard ratio of 0.74 (P<0.0001). Additionally, the patients on active treatment had 676 first hospitalizations for noncardiovascular reasons compared with 715 in the placebo group, a nonsignificant difference.

The post hoc analysis of all hospitalizations for any cause showed that dronedarone-treated patients had significantly fewer hospitalizations for Afib and other supraventricular arrhythmias (514 versus 829, P<0.0001), resulting in significantly fewer hospital days related to Afib in the dronedarone group (3,132 versus 4,637, P<0.0001).

Dronedarone also was associated with fewer hospitalizations. “Antiarrhythmic drugs approved for maintenance of sinus rhythm in patients with Afib have all been documented to prevent or delay the recurrence of Afib,” the authors wrote. “ATHENA is the only study powered to demonstrate a clinical benefit beyond maintenance of sinus rhythm specifically in patients with Afib.”

Ref: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Arrhythmias/27915?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_source=WC&userid=333280