October 21, 2019
Written by
Mark Ramzy
REBEL EM
Background Information: Atrial fibrillation is the most commonly encountered dysrhythmia in the emergency department (ED) and is associated with an increased long-term risk of stroke, heart-failure and all-cause mortality.
1,2 In fact, the overall mortality rate for patients with atrial fibrillation is approximately double that of patients in normal sinus.
3,4 The decision to rate vs. rhythm control patients while in the emergency department remains controversial in the literature and the method of doing so using chemical vs. electrical cardioversion also stirs up debate. Prior studies have shown the success rate of electrical cardioversion alone to be 90%.
1,5 other studies have demonstrated that emergency physicians use each strategy roughly half the time.
1 The authors of this study sought to determine if one of the two strategies resulted in achievement of normal sinus rhythm and discharge more quickly.
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Medical Categories:
Cardiovascular