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One hundred fifty-five consecutive patients resuscitated after out-of- hospital ventricular fibrillation by a physician-manned advanced life support unit were randomly assigned to receive nimodipine or placebo at a dosage of 10 ug/kg as an intravenous injection immediately after restoration of spontaneous circulation,followed by an infusion of 0.5 ug/ kg per minute for 24 hours.No significant difference was found in the 1- year survival rate of nimodipine-treated(30[40%]of 75 patents)and placebo- treated patients(29[36%]of 80 patients).Recurrent ventricular fibrillation during the treatment occurred in one patient in the nimodipine group compared with 12 patients in the placebo group.In a post hoc analysis of patients with very long delays in advanced life support(more than 10 minutes),the 1-year survival rate was higher with nimodipine(eight[47%]of 17 patients)than with placebo(two[8%]of 26 patients).Nimodipine may be of benefit in patients with delayed resuscitation. |
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