A 44-year-old man was treated with amiodarone for dilated cardiomyopathy. After 53 months, he developed amiodarone-induced interstitial pneumonia. Amiodarone treatment was terminated, and the patient was given corticosteroids. These treatments were effective. However, pneumonitis recurred whenever prednisolone was reduced to less than 5 mg per day. Considering the patient's background character...

A woman presented with broad complex tachycardia. She was converted to sinus rhythm with intravenous amiodarone and continued on oral amiodarone. The amiodarone was stopped 3 weeks later as she was pregnant. Electrocardiogram (ECG) then revealed coved-type ST elevation in C1, suggestive of Brugada syndrome, and widespread inferior ST elevation. Electrocardiogram several months later showed reso...

Amiodarone is a drug which frequently causes elevated transaminases. However, acute liver failure has been rarely reported. Here, we present a case of fatal acute liver failure following the administration of intravenous amiodarone. It is important to be aware of this rare but potentially fatal complication of intravenous amiodarone so that it can be withdrawn immediately at the first sign of h...

Amiodarone is generally regarded to have a high safety profile with a low incidence of arrhythmias. However, there have been reports of torsades de pointes under certain conditions, such as electrolyte imbalance or concomitant antiarrhythmic therapy. We describe a case of amiodarone-induced torsade de pointes early after initiation of intravenous amiodarone in the setting of T-wave alternans.

Although amiodarone appears to have few pro-arrhythmic effects, torsade de pointes (TdP) has been observed during long-term drug administration, usually in conjunction with electrolyte disturbances, a change in drug dosage, or concomitant drug therapy. We report two cases of amiodarone-induced TdP shortly after administration of a low dose of oral amiodarone, in the absence of predisposing fact...

The potentiation of the anticoagulant effect of sodium warfarin by amiodarone is reported in 10 patients. Amiodarone appears to augment the depression of vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors caused by warfarin by an uncertain mechanism, and may lead to serious bleeding. The maintenance dose of warfarin should be halved when amiodarone and warfarin are prescribed together.

ATP-sensitive K(+) (KATP) channels are present on the sarcolemma (sarcKATP channels) and mitochondria (mitoKATP channels) of cardiac myocytes. Amiodarone, a class III antiarrhythmic drug, reduces sudden cardiac death in patients with organic heart disease. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of amiodarone on sarcKATP and mitoKATP channels. Single sarcKATP channel c...

BACKGROUND Amiodarone is an effective antiarrhythmic drug rarely associated with torsade de pointes arrhythmias (TdP). The noniodinated compound dronedarone could resemble amiodarone and be devoid of the adverse effects. In the dog with chronic complete atrioventricular (AV) block (CAVB) and acquired long-QT syndrome, the electrophysiological and proarrhythmic properties of the drugs were compa...

The pharmacokinetic characteristics of amiodarone suggest extensive tissue deposition. We confirmed this by measuring tissue concentrations of the drug and of its major metabolite, desethylamiodarone, in human tissues. These were obtained at autopsy (n = 9), surgery (n = 7), or biopsy (n = 2) from 18 patients who had been treated with amiodarone for varying periods of time. High concentrations ...