UMEM Educational Pearls

Category: Cardiology

Title: adenosine and WCTs

Keywords: adenosine, ventricular tachycardia (PubMed Search)

Posted: 12/30/2007 by Amal Mattu, MD (Updated: 4/26/2024)
Click here to contact Amal Mattu, MD

Adenosine should be used with great caution in patients with wide complex tachycardia for two major reasons:
1. Adenosine should never be used as  diagnostic maneuver to decide whether someone has ventricular tachycardia vs. SVT. Adenosine is well-reported to convert certain types of VT.
2. If the WCT is irregular, this may be atrial fibrillation with WPW, in which case adenosine is well-known to produce ventricular fibrillation.