[Oxprenolol in the treatment and prevention of cardiac arrhythmias]. / L'oxprenololo nel trattamento e nella profilassi delle aritmie cardiache

Authors have analyzed the antiarrhythmic effect of oxprenolol, a beta blocking agent, in the treatment of various types of arrhythmias and in the prophylaxis of recurrences of auricular flutter and fibrillation. The results obtained in a group of 68 cases of different arrhythmias may be summarized in the following way: a) the drug efficiently reduces the ventricular rate in sinus tachycardia and in atrial flutter and fibrillation with high ventricular rate, even if resistant to treatment with digitalis; b) in patients with asynchronous pacemaker oxprenolol leads to disappearance or an important reduction of competitive rhythms; c) in supraventricular paroxysmal tachycardias the results are positive in the majority of cases (while on the contrary in 2 cases of ventricular tachycardias the drug was not effective). A group of 116 cases with auricular flutter or fibrillation (in which sinus rhythm had been restored with quinidine or cardioversion has been analyzed to study the prophylactic activity of oxprenolol in these arrhythmias. The cases have been divided at random into two groups and have been treated with quinidine (g 0.80 p.d.) or with an association of oxprenolol (mg 60 p.d.) and quinidine (g 0,60 p.d.). The observation period varied from a minimum of 1 month to a maximum of 3 years and 3 months. The curves showing the percentage of persistance of sinus rhythm in the two groups were very similar and after 3 years and 3 months 100% of patients observed presented a recurrence of arrhythmias.