Amiodarone

The reputation of amiodarone spread far and wide—amiodarone, the word was, was a unique antiarrhythmic drug that almost always worked, and had virtually no side effects. Both of these assertions, of course, proved false - Richard N. Fogoros MD

Amiodarone
Amiodarone

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Is Amiodarone Dead?

Background: Amiodarone is a class III antidysrhythmic first released for human use in 1962. As with other drugs in this class, amiodarone acts by blocking potassium channels thus prolonging the action potential. This, in turn, leads to a lengthening of depolarization of the atria and ventricles. The drug spread rapidly through US hospitals as it was touted as “always works, and no side effects,” by it’s pharmaceutical manufacturer (Bruen 2016).

Of course, nothing comes free and soon after the drug became widely used, a multitude of adverse effects became apparent. These included minor issues – sun sensitivity and corneal deposits – to major ones – thyroid dysfunction…

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Resources

 Is Amiodarone Dead?

Given that we have better options for stable AF and VT cardioversion and that we have more important interventions to focus on in cardiac arrest, amiodarone should not be routinely used for any of these indications.

DailyMed

Amiodarone hydrochloride is indicated for the treatment of documented, life-threatening recurrent ventricular fibrillation and life-threatening recurrent hemodynamically unstable tachycardia in adults who have not responded to adequate doses of other available antiarrhythmics or when alternative agents cannot be tolerated.

EBM Consult

Amiodarone is generally considered a class III antiarrhythmic drug especially with prolonged use and results in lengthening of the action potential. It also has activity similar to class I agents...

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