Amiodarone (Cordarone X): reminder of risks of treatment and need for patient monitoring and supervision

[helvella]

Just in case anyone on Amiodarone is unaware, is not being carefully monitored, or is having any symptoms. This is an MHRA alert:

Amiodarone (Cordarone X): reminder of risks of treatment and need for patient monitoring and supervision

Amiodarone has been associated with serious and potentially life-threatening side effects, particularly of the lung, liver, and thyroid gland. We remind healthcare professionals that patients should be supervised and reviewed regularly during treatment. Lung problems may have slow onset but then progress rapidly. Computerised tomography scans may help to confirm a suspected diagnosis of pulmonary toxicity.

Rest of this notice is available here:

gov.uk/drug-safety-update/a...

[SlowDragon Administrator]

We see a few people arrive on the forum after amiodarone treatment

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/a...

[helvella Administrator in reply to SlowDragon]

We do indeed.

Realistically, I expect this post to be a waste of time because it will be too late for the ones who are most likely to be negatively affected.

[Hedgeree]

This happened to a friend of mine though I can't remember exactly what they diagnosed him with at the time as it was some time ago. He lost a lot of weight and his eyes started to protrude a little. It took over a year before he started to experience less symptoms.

Not sure if the amiodarone was stopped abruptly or titrated down. He was treated with steroids.

I do remember he was told it was a rare side effect though that doesn't appear to be true.

He wasn't warned about any possible side affects on his thyroid as the endo that treated him was a bit shocked by this.

I do often wonder if his thyroid health has been affected long term by this.

[shaws Administrator]

How terrifying that a product can cause such awful symptoms has been prescribed to people. It is an absolute disaster for those who've been serously injured by it.

[CatsofCatford]

Thank you very much for posting. This drug has been crucial in stabilising my father’s heart condition … my impression is that it’s only used as a last resort … but despite the hospital advising GP to test dad regularly due to its toxicity, it doesn’t happen. It’s been on my mind to do something about it, but reading this has galvanised me into action. Thank you again.

[helvella Administrator in reply to CatsofCatford]

I don't know anything about people on Amiodarone, but carefully monitoring is so often a bad joke.

[shaws Administrator]

The quotation is serious enough to frighten many people and cause extreme anxiety.

It would be absolutely awful if anyone developed any of the symptoms.