Ep 99 - Adenosine or Diltiazem for SVT?

from The EMS Lighthouse Project · host Jeffrey L. Jarvis, MD

We just got a new paper that compares initial treatment with adenosine compared with diltiazem for the treatment of adults with SVT in the ED. Wouldn’t it be great if it turned out that diltiazem was just as effective, if not more effective, as adenosine without the crappy feeling? Yeah, that’d be great, but what do we do with statistically insignificant results. Is there, perhaps, a way to save this “insignificant” paper? Fear not, Bayes is here! Yes, that’s right, Dr. Jarvis is grabbing this new paper and diving straight back into that deep dark rabbit hole of Bayesian analysis. Citation:1. Lee CA, Morrissey B, Chao K, Healy J, Ku K, Khan M, Kinteh E, Shedd A, Garrett J, Chou EH: Adenosine Versus Fixed-Dose Intravenous Bolus Diltiazem on Reversing Supraventricular Tachycardia in The Emergency Department: A Multi-Center Cohort Study. The Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2025;August 1;75:55–64.