Description

• Amiodarone concentrate injection 150mg/3ml.
• Amiodarone oral liquid – prepared by Pharmacy.  Refer to the bottle label for details.

Prescription

Intravenous

Charted on fluid chart giving:

• rate in ml/hour
• dose in micrograms/kg/minute

Also charted on drug chart under "continuous infusions" giving:

• amount of drug to be added
• type and volume of base fluid
• micrograms/kg/ml

Oral

• Loading doses are charted on stat page of prescription chart in mg/dose.
• Maintenance doses are charted on prescription chart in mg/dose.

Administration

Intravenous

1. Compatible with glucose 5% only.
2. Incompatible with heparin saline, (use glucose 5% as flush solution), sodium bicarbonate, and sodium chloride.
3. The maximum concentration that can be used is 6mg/ml.
4. Concentrations of amiodarone less than 0.6mg/ml are unstable and should not be used.
5. Use a Pall 0.2 micron in-line filter.
6. Administration via a non-DEHB containing infusion set (use leur lock extension set BC563 and BC561) should be considered to reduce the possibility of plasticisers leaching from the infusion bags.
7. Infusion solutions should be changed after 24 hours.

Oral

1. Shake well before administration.
2. Can be administered with milk.

Nursing Considerations

Intravenous

1. Prior to intravenous administration document: blood pressure, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation level.
2. Observe the cannula site closely, as sloughing of the skin and necrosis can occur with infiltration and extravasation of amiodarone.
3. Monitor ECG and pulse oximetry continuously. Perform daily 12-lead ECG (for QTc interval).
4. If the dose is changed, the patient recordings must be made every 10 minutes for the first ½ hour, then hourly for 2 hours, then 4 hourly.
5. Diluted solution does not require protection from light.

Storage

• Intravenous ampoules: store unopened ampoules below 25°C. Protect from light. Do not refrigerate.
• Oral Liquid: Follow instructions on bottle label.

References