Should all patients receive prophylactic amiodarone therapy before cardiac surgery?

摘要

Following cardiac surgery, many patients develop atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter, which increases the risk of heart failure, myocardial infarction and stroke, and the length of stay in hospital. Guidelines recommend prophylactic (3-blocker use in patients undergoing cardiac surgery, but advise that the antiarrhythmic amiodarone should be given only to high-risk patients. In the absence of a prospective study designed to assess the effect of prophylactic amiodarone therapy on morbidity or mortality after cardiac surgery, Aasbo et al. performed a meta-analysis.