Short- and long-term experience with XXXX in the management of refractory life-threatening @entity943 .

@entity1 @entity1164 @entity1165 @entity6237 @entity299 @entity453 @entity943
Thirty-eight @entity1 with @entity299 and history of @entity1164 or recurrent sustained @entity1165 were treated with @entity6237 . @entity453 was present in 33 patients. Previous antiarrhythmic therapy consisted of two to eight drugs (mean four). Fourteen @entity1 were resuscitated from @entity1164 and 24 @entity1 had chronic recurrent sustained @entity1165 . Twenty-eight @entity1 had electrophysiologic testing before and during @entity6237 treatment. Sustained @entity1165 became noninducible in 5 @entity1 , nonsustained in 5 @entity1 and slowed in 13 @entity1 (cycle length increased from 278 +/- 64 to 395 +/- 91 ms; p = 0.002). Three of the 14 @entity1 with @entity1164 and 15 of the 24 @entity1 with recurrent sustained @entity1165 remained on long-term @entity6237 treatment. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction in 16 of these 18 @entity1 was 37%. Nonlimiting side effects occurred in seven @entity1 (18%). Proarrhythmic effects were seen in four @entity1 (10%). At a mean follow-up time of 11 +/- 3 months, 15 @entity1 (39%) had had no recurrence, including 5 who had inducible sustained @entity1165 and 5 who did not on retesting during treatment. In the 18 @entity1 who received long-term therapy, 3 late deaths occurred, 1 of which was of arrhythmic origin. These data suggest that @entity6237 is effective in about 40% of @entity1 with severe refractory @entity943 . Its value as a single drug in the treatment of @entity1164 remains to be defined.
