Drugs
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Review Clinical Trial
Lorcainide. A preliminary review of its pharmacodynamic properties and therapeutic efficacy.
Lorcainide is a type I antiarrhythmic drug of the local anesthetic type. It can be given either intravenously or orally, and its pharmacokinetic properties allow relatively long (12 hours) dosing intervals with oral administration. A slowly eliminated metabolite, norlorcainide, probably contributes to the effects of orally administered lorcainide in chronically treated patients. ⋯ The most frequent side effect is disturbed sleep during the initiation of oral treatment, which may occur in the majority of patients but usually responds to treatment with a benzodiazepine and subsides with time. Thus, lorcainide appears useful against a variety of arrhythmias. With its convenient dosage schedule and apparently low incidence of serious side effects it should become a useful addition to the antiarrhythmic agents available, although longer term studies are needed to confirm its continued efficacy and lack of unexpected side effects when used for long periods.