Amiodarone dosing: a proposal based on its pharmacokinetics.
The available data concerning amiodarone dosing may be summarized as follows: (1) there is an empirically demonstrated improvement in lag before onset of antiarrhythmic effect if amiodarone is given initially in large "loading" doses. (2) A regimen such as that described in this article may allow more predictable and safe therapy and should be evaluated in patients, in order to develop uniform dosing guidelines. (3) Amiodarone clearance appears to decrease with time, and for this reason guidance of long-term therapy by plasma concentration determinations could potentially improve safety and efficacy. However, a close correlation between drug levels and drug toxicity and efficacy is lacking. (4) Finally, plasma concentrations, although potentially useful for monitoring long-term therapy, are likely to be unhelpful or misleading during the 4- to 6-week loading period at the beginning of treatment.
D000638:Amiodarone / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000188:drug therapy; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006207:Half-Life; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008954:Models, Biological
D001572:Benzofurans; D000638:Amiodarone