Amiodaron in atrial fibrillation: post coronary artery bypass graft.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrilation (AF) is the most common complication following heart surgeries; it often occurs in patients after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). The purpose of this review is to categorize prophylaxes or treatment by administration of Amiodaron in patients with CABG.

DATA RESOURCES: We searched google scholar, pubmed, and Cochrane Library databases (the period 1970-2010) for articles on Amiodaron in CABG and cardiac surgery. A total of 1 561 articles were identified, and 30 articles met the criteria and were enrolled in this review.

RESULTS: Most studies supported Amiodarone for prophylaxi purpose in patients who were performed with CABG; few papers supported Amiodaron as a drug for treating CABG. The prophylaxis can decrease the incidence rate of AF in CABG, but if it uses as a treatment, the side effect of Amiodaron will decrease because all of the patients will not get Amiodarone. In the other hand use of Amiodarone as a treatment does not influence the length of hospital stay significantly but these kinds of study are so few.

CONCLUSION: No appropriate therapeutic method has been defined for AF. At present, the common way of treating AF following cardiac surgery is mainly based on prophylaxis in medical books and references.