Ottawa Aggressive Protocol For Acute Atrial Fibrillation Is Successful

Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 16 May 2007 - 12:00 PDT

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There is no consensus on Emergency Department management of acute atrial fibrillation (AAF) or atrial flutter (AAFL). The Ottawa Aggressive Protocol, consisting of an IV procainamide infusion of 1 gram over 1 hour, electrical cardioversion, if necessary, by ED staff and discharge from the ED with outpatient cardiology follow-up, may be a safe and effective treatment for AAF and AAFL.

In results to be presented at the 2007 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Annual Meeting, Dr. Ian Stiell of the Ottawa Health Research Institute will show that in 660 patient visits in a 5 year period, over 90% of all patients with AAF or AAFL can be discharged with a normal heart rhythm using this protocol. This method of treatment stands in contrast to practice in the United States, where management of AAF and AAFL is hospital admission followed by treatment by cardiologists.

Dr. Stiell states, "This is the largest reported study of AAF/AAFL in the ED and demonstrates that the Ottawa Aggressive Protocol is extremely effective for the rapid cardioversion and discharge of patients by ED physicians. This protocol is safe and could lead to a significant decrease in hospital admissions."

The presentation is entitled "The Ottawa Aggressive Protocol for ED Management of Acute Atrial Fibrillation" by Ian G. Stiell, MD. This paper will be presented at the 2007 SAEM Annual Meeting, May 16-19, 2007, Chicago, IL on Wednesday, May 16th, in the Plenary session beginning at 1:00 PM in Sheraton 4 & 5 of the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers. Abstracts of the papers presented are published in Volume 14, Issue 5S, the May 2007 supplement of the official journal of the SAEM, Academic Emergency Medicine.

About The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) is a national non-profit organization of over 6,000 academic emergency physicians, emergency medicine residents and medical students. SAEM's mission is to improve patient care by advancing research and education in emergency medicine. SAEM's vision is to promote ready access to quality emergency care for all patients, to advance emergency medicine as an academic and clinical discipline, and to maintain the highest professional standards as clinicians, teachers, and researchers. The SAEM Annual Meeting attracts approximately 2,000 medical students, residents and academic emergency physicians. It provides the largest forum for the presentation of original research in the specialty of Emergency Medicine.

www.saem.org

About Academic Emergency Medicine

The SAEM's official journal, Academic Emergency Medicine, is published by Elsevier. Established in 1994, Academic Emergency Medicine is a monthly peer-reviewed journal that publishes material relevant to the practice, education, and investigation of emergency medicine, and reaches a wide audience of emergency care practitioners and educators. Each issue contains a broad range of topics relevant to the improvement of emergency, urgent or critical care of the acutely ill or injured patient. Regular features include original research, preliminary reports, education & practice and annotated literature.

www.aemj.org

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the global science and health communities, Elsevier's 7,000 employees in over 70 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such as ScienceDirect , MD Consult, Scopus , bibliographic databases, and online reference works.

www.elsevier.com

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