Prevention of Postop Atrial Fibrillation Through Intraoperative Inducibility of Atrial Fibrillation and Amiodarone Treatment

February 12, 2026 updated by: Anson M Lee, Stanford University

Assessment of Intra-Operative Atrial Fibrillation Inducibility As a Screening Tool to Prevent Post-Operative Atrial Fibrillation With Prophylaxis Amiodarone

Patients undergoing first time cardiac surgery will undergo rapid atrial pacing prior to initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass to screen for AF inducibility. Patients with inducible AF will be randomized to prophylactic amiodarone treatment versus no treatment. Patients who are not inducible to AF will be treated with standard post-operative care. Patients will be monitored post-operatively to explore the value of intraoperative inducibility of AF to predict POAF and to evaluate whether the combination of intraoperative inducibility and precision amiodarone therapy is effective at reducing the incidence of POAF

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

In the operating room, as part of the open heart surgery, the surgeon will stimulate the superior right atrium section of the heart with a pacemaker for 30 seconds just prior to starting the heart and lung bypass machine. The stimulation is done to see how sensitive the heart is to developing atrial fibrillation. This test result will be documented. The procedure will only take 60 seconds out of the entire operation. It does not involve taking any samples of tissue or blood. Following this step, if the heart demonstrates atrial fibrillation for at least 30 seconds then the participant will then be randomized to either receive the prophylactic drug treatment using Amiodarone or to no prophylactic drug administration. The participant has a 50% chance of receiving the FDA approved study drug Amiodarone. The study arms consist of prophylactic drug administration with Amiodarone, No prophylactic drug administration, or no atrial fibrillation reaction after stimulation with the pacemaker. The remainder of the surgical procedure will not be affected, and will follow routine surgical practice.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
600

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Stanford, California, United States, 94305
        • Recruiting
        • Stanford University
        • Contact:
          • Anson Lee, MD
          • Phone Number: 650-724-7500
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • John Niesen, RN, MSN
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Terrence Pong, MD, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Kevin Cyr, BS
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Joy Aparicio, BS
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Cody Carlton, BS

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients scheduled for first-time non-emergent open-heart surgery for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) revascularization, valvular repair or replacement, combined CABG with valve repair or replacement, or valve sparing aortic root repair
  • Normal sinus rhythm
  • No documented history of atrial fibrillation

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Prior surgical procedures involving heart surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass
  • Any prior documented history of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter or atrial tachycardia lasting longer than 30 seconds
  • Prior history of Amiodarone treatment for the management of supraventricular tachy-arrhythmias
  • Patients requiring surgical treatment of atrial arrhythmias such as pulmonary vein isolation or Maze procedure.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Inducible Atrial Fibrillation
Treatment with Amiodarone
Drug: Amiodarone Injection
Patients stratified into the amiodarone study group were administered amiodarone until day of discharge. Amiodarone administration began intraoperatively with the administration of a 150 mg IV amiodarone loading bolus prior to separation from coronary pulmonary bypass, followed by 1 mg/min IV amiodarone for six hours (360 mg), then 0.5 mg/min IV amiodarone for 18 hours (540 mg), then transitioned to 400 mg oral amiodarone twice a day until discharge. In total, patients in the amiodarone treatment group received 1,050mg of IV amiodarone plus 800mg/day of oral amiodarone thereafter until discharge.
Device: Intraoperative Rapid Atrial Pacing
Intraoperative rapid atrial pacing for 30 seconds after cannulation and prior to initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass by having the surgeon attach insulated forceps to the superior right atrial free wall and connected to a temporary pacemaker to burst pace at a rate of 800 bpm for 30 seconds (pulse width 1.0 ms, output: 20 mA) Patients are monitored for successful atrial fibrillation induction defined as 30 seconds of sustained atrial fibrillation on ECG.
Other: Inducible Atrial Fibrillation - Standard Care
No initial Amiodarone Treatment unless POAF seen on post operative care unit.
Drug: Amiodarone Injection
Patients stratified into the amiodarone study group were administered amiodarone until day of discharge. Amiodarone administration began intraoperatively with the administration of a 150 mg IV amiodarone loading bolus prior to separation from coronary pulmonary bypass, followed by 1 mg/min IV amiodarone for six hours (360 mg), then 0.5 mg/min IV amiodarone for 18 hours (540 mg), then transitioned to 400 mg oral amiodarone twice a day until discharge. In total, patients in the amiodarone treatment group received 1,050mg of IV amiodarone plus 800mg/day of oral amiodarone thereafter until discharge.
Device: Intraoperative Rapid Atrial Pacing
Intraoperative rapid atrial pacing for 30 seconds after cannulation and prior to initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass by having the surgeon attach insulated forceps to the superior right atrial free wall and connected to a temporary pacemaker to burst pace at a rate of 800 bpm for 30 seconds (pulse width 1.0 ms, output: 20 mA) Patients are monitored for successful atrial fibrillation induction defined as 30 seconds of sustained atrial fibrillation on ECG.
Other: Non-Inducible Atrial Fibrillation
Amiodarone treatment if POAF seen on post-operative care unit
Device: Intraoperative Rapid Atrial Pacing
Intraoperative rapid atrial pacing for 30 seconds after cannulation and prior to initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass by having the surgeon attach insulated forceps to the superior right atrial free wall and connected to a temporary pacemaker to burst pace at a rate of 800 bpm for 30 seconds (pulse width 1.0 ms, output: 20 mA) Patients are monitored for successful atrial fibrillation induction defined as 30 seconds of sustained atrial fibrillation on ECG.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Decreasing the incidence of Post-Operative Atrial Fibrillation for Cardiac Surgery Patients
Time Frame: 30 days
Identify predictors of developing atrial fibrillation in the hope of decreasing post-operative length of stay, the need for anticoagulation, decrease risk of stroke, DVT, and bleeding
30 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Stanford University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Anson Lee, MD, Stanford University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 1, 2017

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2030

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2050

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 6, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 6, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 8, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 17, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 12, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 38527

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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