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Biomedical subjects

E E Kennedy

Publications and source records attributed to E E Kennedy.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Comparison of disposition values obtained by two assay methods for quinidine gluconate in patients with ventricular tachycardia.

Eight patients with previously untreated ventricular tachycardia, age 48.54 +/- 28.02 years (mean +/- SD), were enrolled in a protocol evaluating the disposition of quinidine gluconate as determined by two assay methods. Patients received two infusions of 5 mg/kg over 30 minutes separated by 20-30 (24.9 +/- 4.0) minutes of electrophysiologic testing. Blood samples were obtained at 0.17 hours and just prior to the second infusion, and then at 0.17, 0.25, 0.33, 1.0, 6.0, 12.0, and 24.0 hours after the second infusion. Paired serum samples were assayed for quinidine concentrations by fluorescence polarization immunoassay and high-performance liquid chromatography. The two assays compared well, with a linear regression equation of Y = 0.927X + 0.247 with a correlation coefficient of 0.985. With the exception of the beta elimination rate constant and beta distribution volume, t test comparison of disposition values demonstrated no significant difference. Differences in the estimates of the beta elimination rate constant reflected differences in the two methods and indicated that even though both assays were comparable, subtle differences in specificity could be reflected in significant differences in this variable.

Adult↗

Disposition of 3-hydroxyquinidine in patients receiving initial intravenous quinidine gluconate for electrophysiology testing of ventricular tachycardia.

The formation rate constant and elimination rate constant for 3-hydroxyquinidine were determined in eight patients with ventricular tachycardia. These two parameters (mean +/- SD) were found to be 0.784 +/- 0.202 and 0.042 +/- 0.058 h-1, respectively. Coefficients of determination for the computer-generated line of best fit for serum concentration-time data were 0.986 +/- 0.008. Patients received two infusions of quinidine gluconate 5 mg/kg over 30 minutes separated by a 20-30 minute electrophysiologic testing period. Unbound and total 3-hydroxyquinidine concentrations were also determined. Among the eight patients, 3-hydroxyquinidine was 61.9 percent bound. Studies in healthy volunteers had shown 50 percent binding. Linear regression of unbound and total 3-hydroxyquinidine was described by the equation Y = 0.3814X-1.448, r = 0.813. Although half-lives of 3.5-12.4 hours had been reported in healthy volunteers, prolonged half-lives were observed in all but two of our arrhythmia patients.

Adult↗

Dissociation of electrophysiologic and pharmacologic stability during an abbreviated oral loading regimen of amiodarone.

Thirty-three patients treated with an abbreviated oral amiodarone loading regimen for ventricular tachycardia underwent electrophysiologic testing in the control state, after 1 week of high-dose (1170 +/- 88 mg/day) inpatient therapy; and after an 8-week intermediate (669 +/- 129 mg/day) dosing phase. Serum levels of amiodarone and desethylamiodarone were measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography during follow-up electrophysiologic studies. Although the corrected sinus node recovery time, sinoatrial conduction time, and AH and HV intervals remained unchanged throughout the loading period, the sinus cycle length, Wenckebach cycle length, atrial and ventricular refractory periods, and ventricular tachycardia mean and return cycle lengths lengthened significantly by 1 week. They then remained stable for the remainder of the treatment period (control less than 1 and 8 weeks, p less than 0.05). In contrast, amiodarone and especially desethylamiodarone levels rose from 1 to 8 weeks: 1.29 +/- 0.56 to 1.97 +/- 0.90 micrograms/ml (p = 0.001) and 0.63 +/- 0.29 to 1.29 +/- 0.61 micrograms/ml (p less than 0.0001), respectively. Because this regimen produces relatively prompt electrophysiologic changes, which then stabilize, early outpatient management becomes feasible before pharmacologic steady state is attained.

Aged↗

Mechanisms and relevance of arrhythmias induced by high-current programmed ventricular stimulation.

Programmed ventricular stimulation was performed at 10 mA with up to 3 extrastimuli in 15 patients studied for indications other than sustained ventricular tachycardia and with no sustained arrhythmias induced at twice diastolic threshold. Stimulation with 10 mA produced 6 new instances of ventricular fibrillation (VF), 1 of which may have been clinically relevant. No sustained ventricular tachycardia was induced. VF was induced with triple extrastimuli in 5 of 6 cases. The increased arrhythmogenicity of 10-mA stimulation was related to shortened ventricular refractory periods (S2 267 +/- 21 vs 231 +/- 22 ms, p less than 0.0001; S3 217 +/- 15 vs 178 +/- 15 ms, p less than 0.0005) and did not occur without at least 2 extrastimulus coupling intervals being less than was possible at twice diastolic threshold. Stimulation with 10 mA also resulted in greater increments in extrastimulus local conduction time (27 +/- 19 vs 54 +/- 15 ms, p less than 0.001) and intraventricular conduction time (27 +/- 17 vs 45 +/- 18 ms, p less than 0.005) as coupling intervals were shortened from 360 ms to just beyond ventricular refractoriness. VF was induced more frequently in patients with cardiomyopathy (p less than 0.05). Thus, the increase in arrhythmogenicity with 10-mA stimulation with triple extrastimuli is predominantly manifest as VF, which occurs with considerable frequency and is of uncertain clinical significance. This technique should be used with great caution, and only after other stimulation modalities have been attempted.

Aged↗

Ventricular tachycardia induction: comparison of triple extrastimuli with an abrupt change in ventricular drive cycle length.

This study compares two stimulation protocols in 47 patients not inducible with double extrastimuli administered during two paced cycle lengths at the right ventricular apex. Method I uses triple extrastimuli; method II, an abrupt short-to-long change in cycle length, single and double extrastimuli. Clinical arrhythmias included sustained ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation (11 patients; group I); nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (27; group II); and no documented ventricular arrhythmia (9; group III). Together, methods I and II rendered 21 of 47 patients inducible; seven were inducible by both methods. No group III patient became inducible. The two techniques were equally likely to produce tachycardias in groups I and II; to induce rapid, pleomorphic, or sustained tachycardias, and tachycardias greater than 10 beats. Since both methods can be applied at the right ventricular apex and increase sensitivity without producing tachycardia in patients with a low suspicion for ventricular arrhythmias, they may facilitate serial drug testing with an indwelling catheter, reducing the need for left-sided studies.

Adult↗

Evaluation by serial electrophysiologic studies of an abbreviated oral loading regimen of amiodarone.

Optimal loading and maintenance regimens for amiodarone are undefined. Serial electrophysiologic testing was used in 25 patients with ventricular tachycardia to assess the adequacy of a 1-week oral loading regimen at 1,200 mg/day, to modify maintenance dosing at the conclusion of loading, and to evaluate the appropriateness of maintenance dosing after 2 months of therapy. During the loading period, highly significant (p less than 0.001) increases occurred in the AH interval (88 +/- 22 vs 120 +/- 31 ms), HV interval (49 +/- 10 vs 61 +/- 11 ms), AV nodal Wenckebach cycle length (390 +/- 92 vs 537 +/- 147 ms), ventricular refractory period (247 +/- 17 vs 276 +/- 23 ms), mean ventricular tachycardia cycle length (254 +/- 38 vs 298 +/- 52 ms) and return cycle length (294 +/- 55 vs 360 +/- 87 ms). Ventricular tachycardia inducibility decreased in only a minority of cases, and when observed in association with a more than 10% increase in ventricular refractory period, resulted in a lower maintenance dose. After 2 months of maintenance therapy no additional change occurred in any of these parameters except for an increase in ventricular tachycardia cycle length (298 +/- 52 vs 330 +/- 65 ms, p less than 0.017). Ventricular tachycardia inducibility again showed no consistent response. It is concluded that patients can be discharged after 1 week of therapy with oral amiodarone loading at 1,200 mg/day and that maintenance dosing modified by electrophysiologic assessment results in steady perpetuation of the cardiac amiodarone effect, as indicated by the time course of change in electrophysiologic variables consistently affected.

Administration, Oral↗

Amiodarone-induced intra-His block.

Two patients, one with and one without preexisting conduction system abnormalities, were treated with amiodarone for refractory ventricular arrhythmias. Electrophysiologic testing before and during amiodarone therapy revealed amiodarone-induced HV interval prolongation and second degree intra-His Wenckebach block with no change in QRS configuration during atrial pacing at relatively long cycle lengths. The mechanism responsible for this phenomenon is unclear. These cases illustrate that amiodarone can induce distal conduction system block even in the absence of clinical conduction system disease in a pattern that mimics atrioventricular nodal block.

Aged↗