Efficacy and safety in pharmacological cardioversion of recent-onset atrial fibrillation: a propensity score matching to compare amiodarone vs class IC antiarrhythmic drugs.

The acute management of recent-onset (<48 h) atrial fibrillation (AF) is still debated. Aim of our study was to compare efficacy and safety of intravenously administered class IC antidysrhythmic agents vs amiodarone in a propensity score matched series of patients acutely treated for AF in the emergency department. During a 3-year period, we retrospectively evaluated all episodes of recent-onset (<48 h) AF pharmacologically treated for sinus rhythm restoration in the emergency department. By means of a propensity score matching considering the main statistically different covariates, we selected two accurately matched treatment groups. We analysed the differences between amiodarone and class IC group in terms of efficacy and safety that is conversion to sinus rhythm rates within 12 and 48 h after starting treatment, time to conversion, and adverse drug effects. An overall number of 817 episodes of recent-onset AF were collected (amiodarone group = 406, class IC group = 411). After matching, we obtained 358 episodes equally divided (amiodarone group = 179 and class IC group = 179). Conversion rates within 12 h were 139 (53.1 %) in amiodarone group and 95 (72.6 %) in class IC group (p < 0.05). Median time for cardioversion was 420 min (331.6-508.3 CI 95 %) in amiodarone and 55 min (44.9-65.1 CI 95 %) in class IC group (p < 0.05). The incidence of adverse events in both groups was very low and equally distributed (p = ns). Intravenously administration of class IC agents, when compared with amiodarone, proved to be more rapid and effective, and equally safe in the acute management of recent-onset AF.

Uncommon double fistula between sinus node arteries and right atrium in a patient with atypical chest pain.

The main coronary artery variants and anomalies are completely asymptomatic and are discovered incidentally or as they rise symptoms. Multidetector computed tomography coronary angiography represents an excellent technique for noninvasive assessment of the coronary tree mainly because of the multiplanar imaging modalities of computed tomography. Thin collimation permits to depict thin vessels such as the sinus node artery, as reported in this case. In this brief report, we describe a case of a rare anomaly of termination the coronaries, a double fistula between the sinus node artery, and the right atrium in a patient with atypical chest pain.