Antiarrhythmic propafenone: improving patient outcomes

Propafenone which is distributed as Rythmol by Knoll Pharmaceuticals (Whippany, New Jersey) is a class IC antiarrhythmic agent approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with life-threatening, malignant ventricular arrhythmias. It is still under investigation for use in patients with non-malignant ventricular arrhythmias, supraventricular arrhythmias, and atrial fibrillation or flutter. This author describes the pharmacokinetics and nurse's role for improving outcomes for patients on propafenone.