AMIODARONE HCL-D5W (amiodarone hcl/dextrose 5 % in water)


Drug overview for AMIODARONE HCL-D5W (amiodarone hcl/dextrose 5 % in water):

Generic name: AMIODARONE HCL/DEXTROSE 5 % IN WATER
Drug class: Antiarrhythmic - Class III
Therapeutic class: Cardiovascular Therapy Agents

Amiodarone hydrochloride is considered to be predominantly a class III antiarrhythmic agent, but the drug also appears to exhibit activity in each of the 4 Vaughn-Williams antiarrhythmic classes, including some class I (membrane-stabilizing) antiarrhythmic action.

Amiodarone appears to be effective in the management of a wide variety of ventricular as well as supraventricular arrhythmias+. Because of amiodarone's potentially life-threatening adverse effects and the management difficulties associated with its use, the drug previously was not considered a first-line antiarrhythmic but generally was reserved for use in life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. The drug also was used infrequently for the suppression or prevention of any type of arrhythmia and only when conventional antiarrhythmic therapy was considered ineffective or was not tolerated.

However, amiodarone generally appears to exhibit greater efficacy and a lower incidence of proarrhythmic effects than class I or other class III antiarrhythmic drugs and therefore has become a mainstay in the management of various tachyarrhythmias, including expert recommendations for advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS), despite labeling that continues to recommend more limited use. In addition, although no antiarrhythmic agent given routinely during cardiac arrest has been shown to increase survival to hospital discharge, amiodarone has been shown to increase short-term survival to hospital admission relative to lidocaine or placebo. Amiodarone should be used only by clinicians who are familiar with and have access to, either directly or through referral, the use of all currently available modalities for the management of recurrent life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias and who have access to appropriate evaluative and monitoring procedures, including continuous ECG monitoring and electrophysiologic techniques for evaluating the patient in both ambulatory and hospital settings.
DRUG IMAGES
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The following indications for AMIODARONE HCL-D5W (amiodarone hcl/dextrose 5 % in water) have been approved by the FDA:

Indications:
None.

Professional Synonyms:
None.