Amiodarone Hydrochloride

1 INDICATIONS AND USAGE Amiodarone hydrochloride tablets are indicated for the treatment of documented, life-threatening recurrent ventricular fibrillation and life-threatening recurrent hemodynamically unstable tachycardia in adults who have not responded to adequate doses of other available antiarrhythmics or when alternative agents cannot be tolerated. Amiodarone hydrochloride tablets are an antiarrhythmic indicated for: Recurrent ventricular fibrillation. ( 1 ) Recurrent hemodynamically unstable ventricular tachycardia. ( 1 )

2 DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION Dosage must be individualized based on severity of arrhythmia and response. Use the lowest effective dose. Obtain baseline chest x-ray, pulmonary function tests, thyroid function tests, and liver aminotransferases. Correct hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, and hypocalcemia before initiating treatment Recommended Dosage: Initiate treatment with a loading doses of 800 to 1600 mg/day until initial therapeutic response occurs (usually 1 to 3 weeks). Once adequate arrhythmia control is achieved, or if side effects become prominent, reduce amiodarone hydrochloride tablets dose to 600 to 800 mg/day for one month and then to the maintenance dose, usually 400 mg/day. Administration: Administer amiodarone hydrochloride tablets consistently with regard to meals [see Clinical Pharmacology ( 12.3 )] . Administration of amiodarone hydrochloride tablets in divided doses with meals is suggested for total daily doses of 1000 mg or higher, or when gastrointestinal intolerance occurs. Initiate treatment with a loading doses of 800 to 1600 mg/day until initial therapeutic response occurs (usually 1 to 3 weeks). Once adequate arrhythmia control is achieved, or if side effects become prominent, reduce amiodarone hydrochloride tablet dose to 600 to 800 mg/day for one month and then to the maintenance dose, usually 400 mg/day. ( 2 )

4 CONTRAINDICATIONS Cardiogenic shock. Sick sinus syndrome, second- or third-degree atrioventricular block, bradycardia leading to syncope without a functioning pacemaker. Known hypersensitivity to the drug or to any of its components, including iodine. Amiodarone hydrochloride tablet is contraindicated in patients with ( 4 ): Cardiogenic shock. Sick sinus syndrome, second- or third-degree AV block, bradycardia leading to syncope without a functioning pacemaker. Known hypersensitivity to the drug or any of its components.

Not available.

6 ADVERSE REACTIONS The following serious adverse reactions are described in more detail in other sections of the prescribing information: Pulmonary Toxicity [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.2 )] Hepatic Injury [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.3 )] Worsened Arrhythmia [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.4 )] Visual Impairment and Loss of Vision [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.5 )] Thyroid Abnormalities [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.6 )] Bradycardia [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.7 )] Peripheral Neuropathy [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.10 )] Photosensitivity and Skin Discoloration [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.11 )] The most common reactions (>1%) leading to discontinuation of amiodarone hydrochloride tablets include pulmonary toxicity, paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia, congestive heart failure, and elevation of liver enzymes. ( 6 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Unichem Pharmaceuticals (USA), Inc., at 1-866-562-4616 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch. 6.1 Clinical Trials Experience Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice. At the usual maintenance dose (400 mg/day) and above, amiodarone hydrochloride causes adverse reactions in about three-fourths of all patients, resulting in discontinuation in 7 to 18%. In surveys of almost 5,000 patients treated in open U.S. studies and in published reports of treatment with amiodarone hydrochloride, the adverse reactions most frequently requiring discontinuation of amiodarone hydrochloride included pulmonary infiltrates or fibrosis, paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia, congestive heart failure, and elevation of liver enzymes. Other symptoms causing discontinuations less often included visual disturbances, photosensitivity, blue skin discoloration, hyperthyroidism, and hypothyroidism. The following side-effect rates are based on a retrospective study of 241 patients treated for 2 to 1,515 days (mean 441.3 days): Thyroid Common: Hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism. Cardiovascular Common: Congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, SA node dysfunction. Gastrointestinal Very common: Nausea, vomiting. Common: Constipation, anorexia, abdominal pain. Dermatologic Common: Solar dermatitis/photosensitivity. Neurologic Common: Malaise and fatigue, tremor/abnormal involuntary movements, lack of coordination, abnormal gait/ataxia, dizziness, paresthesias, decreased libido, insomnia, headache, sleep disturbances. Ophthalmic Common: Visual disturbances. Hepatic Common: Abnormal liver-function tests, nonspecific hepatic disorders. Respiratory Common: Pulmonary inflammation or fibrosis. Other Common: Flushing, abnormal taste and smell, edema, abnormal salivation, coagulation abnormalities. Uncommon: Blue skin discoloration, rash, spontaneous ecchymosis, alopecia, hypotension, and cardiac conduction abnormalities. 6.2 Postmarketing Experience The following adverse reactions have been identified during post-approval use of amiodarone hydrochloride. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure. Hematologic : hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, pancytopenia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, agranulocytosis, granuloma. Immune: anaphylactic/anaphylactoid reaction (including shock), angioedema. Neurologic : pseudotumor cerebri, parkinsonian symptoms such as akinesia and bradykinesia (sometimes reversible with discontinuation of therapy), demyelinating polyneuropathy. Psychiatric : hallucination, confusional state, disorientation, delirium. Cardiac : hypotension (sometimes fatal), sinus arrest. Respiratory: eosinophilic pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome in the post-operative setting, bronchospasm, bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia, pulmonary alveolar hemorrhage, pleural effusion, pleuritis. Gastrointestinal : pancreatitis, acute pancreatitis. Hepatic : hepatitis, cholestatic hepatitis, cirrhosis. Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders : urticaria, toxic epidermal necrolysis (sometimes fatal), erythema multiforme, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, exfoliative dermatitis, bullous dermatitis, drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), eczema, pruritus, skin cancer, lupus-like syndrome. Musculoskeletal : myopathy, muscle weakness, rhabdomyolysis. Renal : renal impairment, renal insufficiency, acute renal failure. Reproductive: epididymitis, impotence. Body as a whole: fever, dry mouth. Endocrine and metabolic : thyroid nodules/ thyroid cancer, syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH). Vascular : vasculitis.