Cardiac arrhythmias in chronic heart failure.

It has been proven that treatment of chronic heart failure (CHF) with some modern drugs is able to reduce mortality in groups of patients with the severest grades of this disease. The risk of sudden death has been unchanged, however. Out of 49 patients on long-term follow-up, 28 patients are surviving (group A) and 21 died (group B). 52.3% of the dead patients died suddenly. Eight patients in NYHA classes I-II died, all of them suddenly. Contrary to this, sudden death was the cause of death only in three of 13 patients in NYHA classes III-IV (p < 0.001). More severe heart failure was present in group B (NYHA class 2.95 +/- 0.96 vs. 2.18 +/- 0.48 in group A--p < 0.1). Antiarrhythmic drugs were given more frequently in group B (in 47.6% of pts vs. 17.9% in group A--p < 0.05). It is concluded that the occurrence of sudden death is higher in patients with less severe forms of CHF and has not been reduced by the means employed. Use of antiarrhythmic drugs may be dangerous and their indication should be based on results of a comprehensive examination. Use of the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator seems to be the most promising approach in indicated cases.

[Sulpiride (Eglonyl Alkaloid) in the treatment of functional disorders of the digestive tract]. / Sulpirid (Eglonyl Alkaloid) v lécení funkcních poruch zazívacího ústrojí.

Sulpirid was administered in an open clinical trial--150 mg/day for 4 weeks--to 31 patients (15 man and 16 women, mean age 31.5 years, mean duration of complaints 1 month to 6 years) suffering from functional disorders of the digestive system. Their health status was evaluated by a specialist in internal medicine, by a psychiatrist and a self-administered SCL-90 questionnaire before the onset of treatment and after four weeks. In 29 patients the complaints disappeared or improved markedly and this improvement persisted also after discontinuation of the drugs. In the entire group a significant drop of the mean initial intensity of psychopathological feature in all dimensions of the questionnaire occurred; the improvement was more marked in men where the mean baseline values of psychopathology were higher. There was also a significant decline of the mean numbers of positively evaluated items in 9 of 10 dimensions of the questionnaire. The drug was well tolerated by the patients with the exception of one transient allergic skin reaction. So far the exact ratio of improvement of psychopathology as a therapeutic response to sulpirid administration and the placebo effect on the patient's complaints cannot be exactly evaluated. Sulpirid has some advantages, as compared with other psychopharmaceutic preparations used in this indication (e.g. amitriptyline, dosulepine).