Procainamide (PCA) is a medication of the antiarrhythmic class used for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. It is a sodium channel blocker of cardiomyocytes; thus it is classified by the Vaughan Williams classification system as class Ia. In addition to blocking the I<sub>Na</sub> current, it inhibits the I<sub>Kr</sub> rectifier K+ current. Procainamide is also known to induce a voltage-dependent open channel block on the batrachotoxin (BTX)-activated sodium channels in cardiomyocytes.
Uses
Medical
Procainamide is used for treating ventricular arrhythmias: ventricular ectopy and tachycardia and supraventricular arrhythmias: atrial fibrillation, and re-entrant and automatic supraventricular tachycardia. For example, it can be used to convert new-onset atrial fibrillation, and although was initially thought to be suboptimal for this purpose, a growing body of literature is amounting in support for this exact cause.
It is administered by mouth, by intramuscular injection, or intravenously.
Others
It has also been used as a chromatography resin because it somewhat binds protein.
Side effects
There are many side effects following the induction of procainamide. These adverse effects are ventricular dysrhythmia, bradycardia, hypotension and shock. The adverse effects occur even more often if the daily doses are increased. Procainamide may also lead to drug fever and other allergic responses. There is also a chance that drug-induced lupus erythematosus occurs, which at the same time leads to arthralgia, myalgia and pleurisy. Most of these side effects may occur due to the acetylation of procainamide.
Toxicity
There is a close line between the plasma concentrations of the therapeutic and toxic effect, therefore a high risk for toxicity. Procainamide hydroxylamine has more cytotoxicity by hindering the response of lymphocytes to T-cell and B-cell mitogens. Hydroxylamine can also generate methemoglobin, a protein that could hinder further oxygen exchange.
It was also detected that the antiarrhythmic drug procainamide interferes with pacemakers. A toxic level of procainamide leads to decrease in ventricular conduction velocity and increase of the ventricular refractory period. This results in a disturbance in the artificial membrane potential and leads to a supraventricular tachycardia which induces failure of the pacemaker and death. Thus, it prolongs QT interval of action potential and increases the risk of torsade de pointes.
Metabolism
Procainamide is metabolized via different pathways. The most common one is the acetylation of procainamide to the less-toxic N-acetylprocainamide. The rate of acetylation is genetically determined. There are two phenotypes that result from the acetylation process, namely the slow and rapid acetylator. Procainamide can also be oxidized by the cytochrome P-450 to a reactive oxide metabolite. But it seems that acetylation of the nitrogen group of procainamide decrease the amount of the chemical that would be available for the oxidative route. Other metabolites of procainamide include desethyl-N-acetylprocainamide, desethylprocainamide, p-aminobenzoic acid, which are excreted via the urine. N-acetyl-4-aminobenzoic acid as well as N-acetyl-3-hydroxyprocainamide, N-acetylprocainamide-N-oxide and N-acetyl-4-aminohippuric acid are also metabolites of procainamide.
Procainamide is structurally similar to procaine, but in place of an ester group, procainamide contains an amide group. This substitution is the reason why procainamide exhibits a longer half-life time than procaine.
Procainamide belongs to the aminobenzamides. These are aromatic carboxylic acid derivatives consisting of an amide with a benzamide moiety and a triethylamine attached to the amide nitrogen.
In certain lines, the para-amino group might become a target site to attach further paraphernalia, e.g. ref. Ex18 in .
History
Procainamide was approved by the US FDA on June 2, 1950, under the brand name "Pronestyl". It was launched by Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1951.
Due to the loss of Indonesia in World War II, the source for cinchona alkaloids, a precursor of quinidine, was reduced. This led to research for a new antiarrhythmic drug. As a result, procaine was discovered, which has similar cardiac effects as quinidine. In 1936 it was found by Mautz that by applying it directly on the myocardium, the ventricular threshold for electrical stimulation was elevated. In addition, procaine also caused tremors and respiratory depression. All these adverse features stimulated the search for an alternative to procaine. Studies were done on various congeners and metabolites and this ultimately led to the discovery of procainamide by Mark et al. It was found that procainamide was effective for treating ventricular arrhythmias, but it had the same toxicity profile as quinidine, and it could cause systemic lupus erythematosus-like syndrome.