Towards evidence-based emergency medicine: best BETs from the Manchester Royal Infirmary. BET 1: is intravenous adenosine effective and safe in patients presenting with unstable paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia?

A short-cut review was carried out to establish whether intravenous adenosine is effective in the treatment of unstable paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. A total of 711 papers was found using the reported search, of which eight represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. The clinical bottom line is there is strong evidence to support the efficacy of using adenosine as first-line treatment in patients who present to emergency departments with unstable paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia.