Journal of Clinical Medicine
Efficacy and Safety of Vernakalant for Cardioversion of Atrial Fibrillation and Flutter: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
By Abdulrahman A. Sayed, Leena Omair, Rawan Saud Aldreweash and 10 others.
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Vernakalant is an atrial-selective antiarrhythmic used for rapid pharmacological cardioversion of recent-onset atrial fibrillation. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of vernakalant compared with placebo, active antiarrhythmic therapy, and electrical cardioversion.
Methods
PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were searched from inception to August 2026. Randomized clinical trials, clinical trials, and comparative observational studies evaluating vernakalant in adults with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter were included. Dichotomous outcomes were pooled as risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using the Mantel–Haenszel random-effects model in RevMan 5.4.