title: Low dose amiodarone in refractory tachyarrhythmias.
abstract: Fifty patients with drug resistant tachyarrhythmias were treated with amiodarone for 6-22 months; 16 for recurrent ventricular tachycardia (VT), 2 for VT followed by ventricular fibrillation (VF), 14 for complex ventricular ectopics, and 18 for supraventricular tachyarrhythmias (SVT). Amiodarone was administered in a dose much lower than that used in western trials. The actual incidence of successful amiodarone therapy was 81.2% at 22 months for patients with VT. Among the patients with SVT, 88.6% patients were successfully treated for 22 months (range 3-22 months). Amiodarone toxicity appeared in 22 of 50 patients (44%) treated for more than 12 weeks. Withdrawal of therapy was required in 4 patients. Despite the lower dose, clinical efficacy and onset of action were comparable to the western experience.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Calcutta.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Panja
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Maity
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Kar
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Majumdar
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Panja
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000638:Amiodarone / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D002648:Child; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013614:Tachycardia, Paroxysmal / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013617:Tachycardia, Supraventricular / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D000638:Amiodarone