Without evidence of benefit, an intervention should not be presumed to be beneficial or safe.

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The PROCAMIO Trial – IV Procainamide vs IV Amiodarone for the Acute Treatment of Stable Wide Complex Tachycardia

ResearchBlogging.org
 

This is a very interesting trial that may surprise the many outspoken amiodarone advocates, but it should not surprise anyone who pays attention to research.

ALPS showed that we should stop giving amiodarone for unwitnessed shockable cardiac arrest. The lead researcher is still trying to spin amiodarone for witnessed shockable cardiac arrest, even though the results do not show improvement in the one outcome that matters – leaving the hospital with a brain that still works.[1],[2],[3]

There is an excellent discussion of the study on the podcast by Dr. Salim Rezaie and Dr. Anand Swaminathan REBELCast: The PROCAMIO Trial – IV Procainamide vs IV Amiodarone for the Acute Treatment of Stable Wide Complex Tachycardia.

One problem with the study that they do not address on the podcast is that the patients in the study appear to have had time to watch Casablanca before treatment started. Here’s looking at you, while we’re waiting, kid. This is apparently unintentional one way of doing a placebo washout. If we wait long enough . . . .
 

Time from arrival to start of infusion was 87 ± 21 min for procainamide and 115 ± 36 min for amiodarone patients (P = 0.58).[4]

 

If nothing else, this demonstrates how little we need to worry about immediately pushing drugs for stable monomorphic VT (V Tach or Ventricular Tachycardia). Should we expect much from antiarrhythmic treatment?

Research shows that for stable monomorphic VT (V Tach or Ventricular Tachycardia) amiodarone is not very likely to be followed by an improvement. Only 29%[5] or only 25%[6] or only 15% within 20 minutes, but if we don’t mind waiting an hour it can be as much as 29%.[7] For those of you who are not good at math, that means amiodarone is about the same as doing nothing, only it comes in a syringe. Even though these poor outcomes ignore the side effects, they are the best evidence in favor of amiodarone, so what Kool-Aid are the advocates drinking?

Adenosine, yes adenosine the SVT (SupraVentricular Tachycardia) drug, appears to be more effective at treating ventricular tachycardia than amiodarone – and adenosine is faster and safer than amiodarone.[8]

What if the patient becomes unstable? First start an IV (IntraVenous) line. Then sedate the patient. Then apply defibrillator pads. After the patient is adequately sedated, then cardiovert. We do not need the pads on the patient first. If it takes a while to put the pads on, that is a problem with the ability of the doctors and nurses, not a medical problem.

It does not appear as if any patient received amiodarone or procainamide until after waiting in the ED (Emergency Department) for over an hour. Were some patients cardioverted in well under an hour? Probably. The important consideration is that the doctors and nurses be able to apply the defibrillator pads properly and quickly and deliver a synchronized cardioversion in less than a minute. If the patient has not yet been sedated, the cardioversion should be delayed until after the patient is adequately sedated, so the intervention that depends most on time is the sedation of the patient.
 

VT + Amiodarone Cardioversion
 

Is there a better treatment than amiodarone? Sedate the patient before the patient becomes unstable, then cardiovert. How do the MACEs (Major Adverse Cardiac Events) compare with sedation and cardioversion vs. antiarrhythmic treatment.
 

5.4 Proarrhythmia
Amiodarone may cause a worsening of existing arrhythmias or precipitate a new arrhythmia. Proarrhythmia, primarily torsade de pointes (TdP), has been associated with prolongation, by intravenous amiodarone, of the QTc interval to 500 ms or greater. Although QTc prolongation occurred frequently in patients receiving intravenous amiodarone, TdP or new-onset VF occurred infrequently (less than 2%). Monitor patients for QTc prolongation during infusion with amiodarone. Reserve the combination of amiodarone with other antiarrhythmic therapies that prolong the QTc to patients with life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias who are incompletely responsive to a single agent.
[9]

 

All antiarrhythmic drugs can cause arrhythmias. In the absence of information about a specific problem that is best addressed by a specific drug (amiodarone is the opposite of specific), we should avoid treatments that have such a high potential for harm.

Amiodarone doesn’t even do a good job of preventing arrhythmias.
 

Intravenous amiodarone did not prevent induction of sustained ventricular tachycardia in any of five patients inducible at baseline. Of six patients with non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, five had sustained ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation induced after amiodarone infusion.[10]

 

Is anything worse than amiodarone? Even epinephrine, yes epinephrine the inadequately tested cardiac arrest drug, has been followed by improved outcomes from V Tach after amiodarone failed.[11]
 

What is best for the patient?

Sedation, search for reversible causes, apply defibrillator pads, and be prepared to cardiovert.

Maybe sedation isn’t that important? This is by Dr. Peter Kowey, one of the top cardiologists in the world.
 

The man’s very first utterance was, “If it happens again, just let me die.”

As I discovered, the reason for this patient’s terror was that he had been cardioverted in an awake state. Ventricular tachycardia had been relatively slow, he had not lost consciousness, and the physicians, in the heat of the moment, had not administered adequate anesthesia. Although the 5 mg of intravenous diazepam had made him a bit drowsy, he felt the electric current on his chest and remembered the event clearly.

The patient’s mental state complicated the case considerably.[12]

 

How unimportant is sedation? How unimportant is consent?

For sedation, I would recommend ketamine, but etomidate was recommended in the podcast. Both work quickly and the most important obstacle to immediate treatment of a patient who suddenly deteriorates is the time to effect of sedation. Neither drug is expected to interfere with perfusion, which is the main excuse given for avoiding sedation for cardioversion.

This study is very small (not the fault of the authors), but it adds to the evidence that amiodarone is not a good first treatment for the patient.
 

Go listen to the podcast by Dr. Salim Rezaie and Dr. Anand Swaminathan REBELCast: The PROCAMIO Trial – IV Procainamide vs IV Amiodarone for the Acute Treatment of Stable Wide Complex Tachycardia

 

Over the years, I have written a bit about cardioversion and the importance of sedation –

Cardioversion – I’m not doing that, you do it! – Mon, 24 Mar 2008

Cardioversion – 2010 ACLS – Part I – Mon, 25 Oct 2010

Cardioversion – 2010 ACLS – Part II – Sun, 31 Oct 2010

Cardioversion – 2010 ACLS – Part III – Thu, 11 Nov 2010

On the relative wisdom of synchronized cardioversion without sedation – Part I – Thu, 11 Nov 2010

On the relative wisdom of synchronized cardioversion without sedation – Part II – Fri, 12 Nov 2010

Synchronized Cardioversion Without Sedation – Part II Scallywag’s Response – Sun, 14 Nov 2010

On the relative wisdom of synchronized cardioversion without sedation – Part III – Tue, 16 Nov 2010

On the relative wisdom of synchronized cardioversion without sedation – Part IV – Wed, 24 Nov 2010

Comments on Cardioversion – 2010 ACLS – Part II – Mon, 16 Apr 2012
 

I have also written a bit about amiodarone –

Merit Badge Courses, Amiodarone, and tPA – Fri, 17 Sep 2010

Amiodarone for Cardiac Arrest in the 2010 ACLS – Part I – Wed, 01 Dec 2010

Amiodarone for Cardiac Arrest in the 2010 ACLS – Part II – Fri, 03 Dec 2010

Is Nexterone the Next Amiodarone? – Sat, 04 Dec 2010

Amiodarone for Cardiac Arrest in the 2010 ACLS – Part III – Mon, 06 Dec 2010

Where are the Black Box Warnings on These Drugs – I – Mon, 05 Dec 2011

Where are the Black Box Warnings on These Drugs – II – Sun, 11 Dec 2011

Is Amiodarone the Best Drug for Stable Ventricular Tachycardia – Wed, 14 Dec 2011

V Tach Storm – Part I – Wed, 28 Dec 2011

V Tach Storm – Part II – Thu, 29 Dec 2011

Nifekalant versus lidocaine for in-hospital shock-resistant ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia – Wed, 04 Jan 2012

NIH launches trials to evaluate CPR and drugs after sudden cardiac arrest – Sun, 29 Jan 2012

What Will Be the Next Standard Of Care We Eliminate – Wed, 28 Mar 2012

Happy Adenosine Day – Tue, 12 Jun 2012

Too Much Medicine and Evidence-Based Guidelines – Part I – Tue, 26 Jun 2012

Too Much Medicine and Evidence-Based Guidelines – Part II – Tue, 03 Jul 2012

Ondansetron (Zofran) Warning for QT Prolongation – is Amiodarone next? – Part I – Mon, 02 Jul 2012

Ondansetron (Zofran) Warning for QT Prolongation – is Amiodarone next? – Part II – Thu, 05 Jul 2012

Wide variability in drug use in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A report from the resuscitation outcomes consortium – Part I – Mon, 17 Sep 2012

Wide variability in drug use in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A report from the resuscitation outcomes consortium – Part II – Tue, 18 Sep 2012

How do we measure the QT segment when there are prominent U waves? – Thu, 13 Dec 2012

Woman with Risks for Torsades de Pointes Dying within Hours of Leaving the Emergency Department – Wed, 02 Jan 2013

Examples of Ventricular Tachycardia Caused by Amiodarone – Part I – Tue, 28 May 2013

Publication Bias – The Lit Whisperers – Tue, 11 Jun 2013

Standards Of Care – Ventricular Tachycardia – Wed, 31 Jul 2013

Footnotes:

[1] Dr. Kudenchuk is Misrepresenting ALPS as ‘Significant’
Tue, 12 Apr 2016
Rogue Medic
Article

[2] Amiodarone, Lidocaine, or Placebo in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
Mon, 04 Apr 2016
Rogue Medic
Article

[3] Amiodarone, Lidocaine, or Placebo in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.
Kudenchuk PJ, Brown SP, Daya M, Rea T, Nichol G, Morrison LJ, Leroux B, Vaillancourt C, Wittwer L, Callaway CW, Christenson J, Egan D, Ornato JP, Weisfeldt ML, Stiell IG, Idris AH, Aufderheide TP, Dunford JV, Colella MR, Vilke GM, Brienza AM, Desvigne-Nickens P, Gray PC, Gray R, Seals N, Straight R, Dorian P; Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Investigators.
N Engl J Med. 2016 May 5;374(18):1711-22. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1514204. Epub 2016 Apr 4.
PMID: 27043165

CONCLUSIONS
Overall, neither amiodarone nor lidocaine resulted in a significantly higher rate of survival or favorable neurologic outcome than the rate with placebo among patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to initial shock-refractory ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia.

[4] Randomized comparison of intravenous procainamide vs. intravenous amiodarone for the acute treatment of tolerated wide QRS tachycardia: the PROCAMIO study.
Ortiz M, Martín A, Arribas F, Coll-Vinent B, Del Arco C, Peinado R, Almendral J; PROCAMIO Study Investigators.
Eur Heart J. 2016 Jun 28. pii: ehw230. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 27354046

Free Full Text from European Heart Journal.

[5] Amiodarone or procainamide for the termination of sustained stable ventricular tachycardia: an historical multicenter comparison.
Marill KA, deSouza IS, Nishijima DK, Senecal EL, Setnik GS, Stair TO, Ruskin JN, Ellinor PT.
Acad Emerg Med. 2010 Mar;17(3):297-306.
PMID: 20370763 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Free Full Text from Academic Emergency Medicine.

[6] Amiodarone is poorly effective for the acute termination of ventricular tachycardia.
Marill KA, deSouza IS, Nishijima DK, Stair TO, Setnik GS, Ruskin JN.
Ann Emerg Med. 2006 Mar;47(3):217-24. Epub 2005 Nov 21.
PMID: 16492484 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

[7] Intravenous amiodarone for the pharmacological termination of haemodynamically-tolerated sustained ventricular tachycardia: is bolus dose amiodarone an appropriate first-line treatment?
Tomlinson DR, Cherian P, Betts TR, Bashir Y.
Emerg Med J. 2008 Jan;25(1):15-8.
PMID: 18156531 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

[8] Adenosine for wide-complex tachycardia – diagnostic?
Thu, 23 Aug 2012
Rogue Medic
Article

[9] AMIODARONE HYDROCHLORIDE- amiodarone hydrochloride injection, solution
DailyMed
5 WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS
FDA Label

[10] Effects of intravenous amiodarone on ventricular refractoriness, intraventricular conduction, and ventricular tachycardia induction.
Kułakowski P, Karczmarewicz S, Karpiński G, Soszyńska M, Ceremuzyński L.
Europace. 2000 Jul;2(3):207-15.
PMID: 11227590 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Free Full Text PDF + HTML from Europace

[11] Low doses of intravenous epinephrine for refractory sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia.
Bonny A, De Sisti A, Márquez MF, Megbemado R, Hidden-Lucet F, Fontaine G.
World J Cardiol. 2012 Oct 26;4(10):296-301. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v4.i10.296.
PMID: 23110246 [PubMed]

Free Full Text from PubMed Central.

[12] The calamity of cardioversion of conscious patients.
Kowey PR.
Am J Cardiol. 1988 May 1;61(13):1106-7. No abstract available.
PMID: 3364364

Kudenchuk PJ, Brown SP, Daya M, Rea T, Nichol G, Morrison LJ, Leroux B, Vaillancourt C, Wittwer L, Callaway CW, Christenson J, Egan D, Ornato JP, Weisfeldt ML, Stiell IG, Idris AH, Aufderheide TP, Dunford JV, Colella MR, Vilke GM, Brienza AM, Desvigne-Nickens P, Gray PC, Gray R, Seals N, Straight R, Dorian P, & Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Investigators (2016). Amiodarone, Lidocaine, or Placebo in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest. The New England journal of medicine, 374 (18), 1711-22 PMID: 27043165

Ortiz M, Martín A, Arribas F, Coll-Vinent B, Del Arco C, Peinado R, Almendral J, & PROCAMIO Study Investigators (2016). Randomized comparison of intravenous procainamide vs. intravenous amiodarone for the acute treatment of tolerated wide QRS tachycardia: the PROCAMIO study. European heart journal PMID: 27354046

Marill KA, deSouza IS, Nishijima DK, Senecal EL, Setnik GS, Stair TO, Ruskin JN, & Ellinor PT (2010). Amiodarone or procainamide for the termination of sustained stable ventricular tachycardia: an historical multicenter comparison. Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, 17 (3), 297-306 PMID: 20370763

Marill KA, deSouza IS, Nishijima DK, Stair TO, Setnik GS, & Ruskin JN (2006). Amiodarone is poorly effective for the acute termination of ventricular tachycardia. Annals of emergency medicine, 47 (3), 217-24 PMID: 16492484

Tomlinson DR, Cherian P, Betts TR, & Bashir Y (2008). Intravenous amiodarone for the pharmacological termination of haemodynamically-tolerated sustained ventricular tachycardia: is bolus dose amiodarone an appropriate first-line treatment? Emergency medicine journal : EMJ, 25 (1), 15-8 PMID: 18156531

Kułakowski P, Karczmarewicz S, Karpiński G, Soszyńska M, & Ceremuzyński L (2000). Effects of intravenous amiodarone on ventricular refractoriness, intraventricular conduction, and ventricular tachycardia induction. 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, 2 (3), 207-15 PMID: 11227590

Bonny A, De Sisti A, Márquez MF, Megbemado R, Hidden-Lucet F, & Fontaine G (2012). Low doses of intravenous epinephrine for refractory sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia. World journal of cardiology, 4 (10), 296-301 PMID: 23110246

Kowey PR (1988). The calamity of cardioversion of conscious patients. The American journal of cardiology, 61 (13), 1106-7 PMID: 3364364

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