Evaluation of clinical efficacy and plasma levels of aprindine.

The clinical efficacy of Aprindine, a new antiarrhythmic agent was tested in 37 patients with ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias. The drug was shown to be effective - disappearance or prevention of relapse of the arrhythmia - in 80% of the cases with ventricular tachycardia, and in 67.7% of the cases with premature ventricular beats. No judgement was possible for supraventricular tachycardia due to the small number of patients. Effectivness of Aprindine was found to be related more closely to the administered dose expressed in mg/kg body weight than to plasma level in steady-state. Discontinuation of therapy was necessary in 5 cases due to the appearance of side effects (tremor and dizziness). Side effects were not found to be in relation with plasma levels or administered dose. In the period of observation (2 months) no effects on blood cells were noticed.