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1: Eur Heart J. 2008 Mar;29(5):625-31. Epub 2008 Feb 8.Click here to read Links
Comment in:
Eur Heart J. 2008 Jun;29(12):1591; author reply 1591.
Eur Heart J. 2008 Nov;29(22):2822-3; author reply 2823.

N-acetylcysteine for the prevention of postoperative atrial fibrillation: a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study.

Ozaydin M, Peker O, Erdogan D, Kapan S, Turker Y, Varol E, Ozguner F, Dogan A, Ibrisim E.

Department of Cardiology, Suleyman Demirel University, School of Medicine, 32040 Isparta, Turkey. mehmetozaydin@hotmail.com

AIMS: Oxidative stress has recently been implicated in the pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of antioxidant agent N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on postoperative AF. METHODS AND RESULTS: The population of this prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study consisted of 115 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass and/or valve surgery. All the patients were treated with standard medical therapy and were randomized to NAC group (n = 58) or placebo (saline, n = 57). An AF episode >5 min during hospitalization was accepted as endpoint. During follow-up period, 15 patients (15/115, 13%) had AF. The rate of AF was lower in NAC group compared with placebo group (three patients in NAC group [5.2%] and 12 patients in placebo group [21.1%] had postoperative AF; odds ratio [OR] 0.20; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.05 to 0.77; P = 0.019). In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, independent predictors of postoperative AF were left atrial diameter (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.06-1.31; P = 0.002) and the use of NAC (OR, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.04-0.91; P = 0.038). CONCLUSION: The result of this study indicates that NAC treatment decreases the incidence of postoperative AF.

PMID: 18263874 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]