SGEM#388: It Makes No Difference Now- Calcium Channel Blocker or Beta Blocker for Atrial Fibrillation with Rapid Ventricular Response & Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction

Date: January 4th, 2023 Reference: Hasbrouck et al. Acute management of atrial fibrillation in congestive heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in the emergency department. AJEM 2022 Guest Skeptics: Dr. Timlin Glaser currently a fourth-year resident in emergency medicine at Lehigh Valley Health Network and future medical toxicology fellow at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix. Dr. Matt Murphy is currently a third-year resident in emergency medicine at Lehigh Valley Health Network.  He has interests in FOAMEd and is currently following the EBM track in his residency. Welcome to the SGEM Matt. This episode is recorded live as an SGEM journal club. There are five rules to journal club 1) You Must Talk/Tweet about SGEM-JC: The SGEM is a knowledge translation project. We know that it can take over ten years for high-quality, clinically relevant information to reach the patient. As Sir Mark Walport famously said: “science is not finished until it’s communicated.” 2) The EBM Answer Is "It All Depends": This rule was learned this from my EBM mentor Dr. Andrew Worster. There are lots of nuances to the application of the literature. It requires critical appraisal skills, clinical judgment and asking the patient about their values and preferences. 3) Don’t Panic – Even Your Faculty Is Not Sure of Some of the Answers: It is hard to stay up on all the relevant medical literature. There is a tsunami of new information being published every day. It can be overwhelming at times. Don’t panic. As Professor Feynman said…It’s ok to say: “I don’t know”. 4) It’s All About the Methods: The method section is the most important section of the paper. We just said there is so much research being published every day. It can be like drinking from a fire hose making it difficult to find the signal in all the noise. As Professor Altman said in the BMJ back in 1994; “we need less research, better research and research done for the right reasons.” This means we need to be asking the right questions that have patient-oriented outcomes and use proper high-quality methods to answer those questions. 5) Be Skeptical of Anything you Learn, Even If You Heard It On the SGEM Journal Club: Skepticism is such an important concept to understand the medical literature and navigate through life. Aristotle advocated for this thousands of years ago and encouraged people to “be a free thinker and don’t accept everything you hear as truth. Be critical and evaluate what you believe in.” Case: A 62-year-old male with a past medical history of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction presents to your emergency department (ED) via ambulance for palpitations and shortness of breath that started earlier that day. He arrives with an irregular heart rate of 142 beats per minute (bpm). The remainder of his vital signs are unremarkable. On physical exam, you notice three plus pitting edema of both lower extremities and bibasilar rales when auscultating his lungs. He takes multiple medications at home, including a beta-blocker, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi), and a loop diuretic.  You order an ECG and confirm the patient has atrial fibrillation (AF) with rapid ventricular response (RVR).  The patient is very symptomatic, and you need to decide which pharmacologic agent you will use to treat his current condition. Background: Atrial fibrillation is a common dysrhythmia seen on a regular basis by emergency physicians. We have covered this topic several times on the SGEM including: SGEM#88: Shock Through the Heart (Ottawa Aggressive Atrial Fibrillation Protocol) SGEM#133: Just Beat It (Atrial Fibrillation) with Diltiazem or Metoprolol? SGEM#222: Rhythm is Gonna Get You – Into an Atrial Fibrillation Pathway SGEM#260: Quit Playing Games with My Heart – Early or Delayed Cardioversion for Recent Onset Atrial Fibrillation? SGEM#267: AFib of the Night – Chemical vs.