Treatment of Ventricular Ectopic Rhythms with Diphenylhydantoin

Abstract

For the treatment of non‐digitalis‐induced ventricular ectopic rhythms, the effect of diphenylhydantoin was studied in 5 patients and compared with the effect of placebo in 5 control patients. For the first three weeks the dosage of diphenylhydantoin was 100 mg four times daily. Then, for maintenance therapy during the rest of the three‐month study, the dosage was reduced to 100 mg three times daily. The numbers of premature ventricular contractions during a five‐minute continuous ECG monitoring period were recorded before therapy, after three weeks of therapy, and after three months of therapy. There was a marked reduction in the number of ventricular ectopic beats in the diphenylhydantoin group compared with the control group.

Antiarrhythmic Properties of Phenytoin

“…Kemp et al [14] investigated the e cacy of DPH in treating non-digitalis-induced ventricular ectopic rhythms. They enrolled 10 patients from a random group of patients with PVCs detected during 12-lead electrocardiographic tracing.…”