Amiodarone in the treatment of refractory ventricular arrhythmias. Importance and safety of initial high-dose therapy

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Abstract
Large initial doses of amiodarone hydrochloride for the treatment [in humans] of ventricular arrhythmias refractory to conventional therapy were demonstrated to shorten the time to achieve control of the arrhythmia. As compared with a lower-dose regimen, the mean time to achieve partial control (suppression of ventricular tachycardia) was 10.6 .+-. 5.2 days in the highest-dose group (group C), 9.5 .+-. 6.4 days in the medium-dose group (group B) and 16.9 .+-. 9.1 days in the lowest-dose group (group A). Complete control (suppression of virtually all ventricular ectopy) was similarly earlier in groups B and group C (16.1 .+-. 7.5 days and 16.0 .+-. 11.3 days, respectively) as compared with group A (31.0 .+-. 10.1 days). The final mean dose for long-term treatment was independent of the initial dose schedule (551 .+-. 245 mg/day; range, 200-1200 mg/day). The large doses were shown to be well tolerated and without serious side effects.

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