In our previous study, we defined a cut-off point of 120 ms for atrial electromechanical interval (
AEMi) to determine the risk of
atrial fibrillation (AF) occurrence. Accordingly, the present study sought to investigate whether or not a prophylactic perioperative administration of
amiodarone could reduce the incidence of AF in a high-risk group (
AEMi >120 ms) undergoing
coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). In this prospective, randomized study, 100 patients with
AEMi >120 ms received either
amiodarone (n=50) or placebo (n=50). The endpoints were AF occurrence after CABG and hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) lengths of stay after CABG. The incidence of postoperative AF was significantly higher in the placebo group than that of the
amiodarone group (88% of patients in control group vs. 16% of patients in
amiodarone group, P<0.0001). The prophylactic
therapy with
amiodarone significantly reduced the ICU
length of stay (2.28+/-1.00 vs. 3.60+/-0.90 days, P<0.0001) and hospital
length of stay (5.64+/-2.35 vs. 7.78+/-1.46 days, P<0.0001). The incidence of postoperative AF among patients with high
AEMi was significantly reduced by a prophylactic
amiodarone treatment, resulting in shorter ICU and
hospital stays.