Long-term experience with @entity2778 in the treatment of complex XXXX .

@entity1 @entity2778 @entity1540 @entity943 @entity1168
@entity2778 was given for extended therapy to 22 of 29 @entity1 with frequent (greater than or equal to 30/hour) complex @entity1540 ( @entity1540 ) who had participated in a short-term study of @entity2778 vs placebo. Open-label @entity2778 was given in individually titrated divided doses of 160 to 800 mg/day (median 323, mean 386 mg/day). Response was assessed at approximately 1, 6, and 12 months or until @entity1 discontinuation. The period of @entity2778 therapy averaged 9 months (range, 0.2 to 22.7). At about 1 month, 13 (59%) of 22 @entity1 showed effective control of @entity943 . The median percentage change in total @entity1540 for individual @entity1 at 1 month was -70% and for repetitive @entity1540 it was -95%. At about 6 months, 10 (45%) of the 22 @entity1 continued to be successfully treated; at about 12 months, seven @entity1 continued on @entity2778 , six (27%) successfully treated according to Holter criteria. Reasons for discontinuation included lack of efficacy in nine, adverse effects in four (fatigue in three, @entity1168 with sinus pauses in one), and miscellaneous reasons in two. ECG PR and especially QTc intervals increased significantly during therapy (p less than 0.02, p less than 0.01, respectively). In summary, @entity2778 is a moderately effective antiarrhythmic agent in @entity1 with complex @entity1540 , but during long-term therapy a rather high dropout rate was observed because of @entity943 recurrence or adverse effects.
