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Evidence summaries

Intravenous Digoxin for Controlling Heart Rate in Atrial Fibrillation

Digoxin appears to lower ventricular rate in acute atrial fibrillation. Level of evidence: "B"

A topic in Clinical Evidence 1 summarizes the evidence on digoxin for controlling heart rate in atrial fibrillation. Two RCTs with a total of 279 people found that digoxin was more effective than placebo in controlling heart rate (0.88 mg intravenously 107 bpm vs 117 bpm, p=0.0001, 1.25 mg intravenously: significant lowering of ventricular rate (p=0.02). CE category: Likely to be beneficial.

Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by imprecise results (few patients).

    References

    • Freestone B, Kamath S, Lip G. Acute atrial fibrillation. Clin Evid 2002 Jun;(7):1-10. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords