Amiodarone Induced Fulminant Hepatotoxicity: A Case Report

Abstract

Amiodarone is an iodine-rich Class III antiarrhythmic drug, which acts via membrane ion channels. It is metabolised in the liver to produce the active metabolite desethylamiodarone. It is highly lipophilic with a large volume of distribution and accumulates in many different tissues, especially the liver. It is widely used in supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias and given as a loading dose, either via the intravenous or oral route, followed by maintenance doses. The common adverse effects of amiodarone are nausea, vomiting, tremor, thyroid dysfunction, peripheral neuropathy, photosensitivity, bradyarrhythmia, worsening of arrhythmia and the less common ones are pneumonitis, optic neuropathy and hepatotoxicity.

Keywords

• drug toxicity
• hepatotoxicity
• metabolite