Efficacy and safety of low dose sotalol on ventricular arrhythmia in Chinese patients

bjective To investigate the efficacy and safety of the low dose(120160 mgd-1)sotalol on ventricular arrhythmia of chinese patients. Method Totally 180 patients,age 2165 years old with ventricular premature complexes(PVCs)entered the study.The initial dose was 120 mgd-1.After two weeks,the dosage was titrated to 160 mgd-1 for those who had not reached the responsible criteria.Holter monitoring was used to assess the arrhythmias.The treatment duration was 24 weeks. Results (1)The effective rate of sotalol(120 mgd-1) with two week treatment was 50%(n=90).Patients with treatment failure received sotalol(160 mgd-1)for another two weeks,the effective rate was 311%(n=23).Therefore,the total effective rate was 628%(n=113).(2)For 96 patients who had treatment failure history by using more than two kinds of antiarrhythmia drugs,the effective rate reached 552%.(3)Blood pressure and heart rate decreased,while QTc interval increased significantly in the first week(P001),but no further significant changes in the following weeks.(4)There was significant relationship between decreased PVCs and mean heart rate(MHR),r=029,P0001,but no definite relationship between decreased PVCs and lengthened QTc interval.(5)The accident rate of adverse event was 122%,5 patients discontinued sotalol therapy due to serious sinus bradycardia(n=2)and hypotension(n=3). Conclusion Low dose sotalol was effective and safe in the treatment of Chinese patients with PVCs and proarrhythmic effect was rarely observed.