Efficacy and safety of ibutilide for conversion of atrial fibrillation

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ibutilide for conversion of paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation.Methods 123 patients with atrial fibrillation duration less than 90 days were enrolled in this study,and they were randomly allocated into propafenone or ibutilide group.53 patients were intravenously administrated with propafenone and 70 patients intravenously administrated with ibutilide separately.Conversion rate,conversion time and adverse effects were compared between the two groups.Results The total conversion rate of ibutilide group was significantly higher than that of propafenone group(77.1%vs 47.2%,P 0.01).Both paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation patients showed higher conversion rate in ibutilide group(78.7%vs 50%,73.9%vs 41.2%,P 0.05 ).Time duration for conversion was significantly shortened in ibutilide group compared with propafenone group(33.4 min±2.9 min vs 62.4 min±9.1 min,P 0.01).No clinical significant adverse effects were observed in ibutilide group.Conclusion Intravenous administration of ibutilide in conversion of paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation is more safe and effective than propafenone.