Dantrolene was introduced for treatment of malignant hyperthermia. It also has antiarrhythmic properties and may thus be an alternative to amiodarone for the treatment of ventricular fibrillation (VF). Aim of this study was to compare the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) with dantrolene and amiodarone in a pig model of cardiac arrest. VF was induced in anesthetized pigs. After 8 min of ...

Amiodarone is used increasingly in a number of cardiac conditions. Amiodarone is heavily iodinated and can cause thyroid dysfunction. The diagnosis of amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis remains difficult and more common causes of thyrotoxicosis need to be considered and excluded. Amiodarone has a significant side effect profile, which includes thyroid dysfunction. Amiodarone is an effective drug...

RATIONALE Although there have been reports of pulmonary toxicity with low-dose amiodarone, it is generally believed that low-dose therapy is safe. METHODS The clinical data for eight patients identified from a retrospective chart review are presented. RESULTS All of the patients were receiving amiodarone, 200 mg/d, for an average of 2 years. The average age was 77 years (range, 65 to 89 yea...

Amiodarone chlorhydrate is a diiodated benzofuran derivative, and it is used to treat cardiac rhythm abnormalities. Hepatotoxicity is a relatively uncommon side effect of amiodarone, and symptomatic hepatic dysfunction occurs in fewer than 1% of the patients taking amiodarone. Cirrhosis is a rare complication that's been confirmed in 12 cases. Peripheral neuropathy occurs in 10% of patients tak...

BACKGROUND Drug interaction studies selecting patients in a real-life setting are scarce, and most studies to date are characterized by a small sample size. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of amiodarone on warfarin maintenance dose and adverse events in an anticoagulation cohort from a tertiary cardiovascular service. METHODS This study recruited 866 patients, and oral anticoagulant therap...

Amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis is often poorly tolerated owing to underlying cardiac disease, and frequently resistant to medical therapy. We describe a 48-year-old patient with severe cardiac disease who developed amiodarone-associated thyrotoxicosis, refractory to standard medical therapy. Due to the unremitting thyrotoxicosis, a total thyroidectomy was performed without complications resu...

Amiodarone is an antiarrhythmic medication used to treat and prevent certain types of serious, life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. Amiodarone gained slow acceptance outside the specialized field of cardiac antiarrhythmic surgery because the side-effects are significant. Recent adoption of amiodarone in the ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) protocol has somewhat popularized this class o...

A dose-dependent cutaneous leukocytoclastic vasculitis developed in a 34 year old man who was given amiodarone for supraventricular tachycardias resistant to other drugs. This adverse reaction disappeared within 2 weeks after discontinuation of amiodarone despite its very long half-life of 52 days in this patient. During previous treatment periods with amiodarone, the patient had experienced ph...

Background Intravenous (IV) amiodarone may be associated with liver injury that may necessitate drug discontinuation. The prediction of amiodarone induced liver injury (AILI) and its severity may help careful patient monitoring or the choice of other measures alternative to amiodarone in high risk patients. Little is known regarding predictors of AILI. Objectives To address the predictors of ...

BACKGROUND Amiodarone is a frequently used antiarrhythmic drug in patients with end-stage heart failure. Given its long half-life, pre-transplant use of amiodarone has been controversially discussed, with divergent results regarding morbidity and mortality after heart transplantation (HTX). AIM The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of long-term use of amiodarone before HTX on e...