Management of Amiodarone in the Long-Term Care Setting

Amiodarone is used for ventricular arrhythmias and other cardiac pathologies. Its half-life is ∼47 days in adults aged >65 years and is typically started with large doses to “load” the patient. However, patients may be discharged to a long-term care facility (LTCF) in the middle of this loading dosing and the higher dose may be continued long-term into the LTCF. This project was designed to characterize the prevalence and bring attention to this issue. Long-term, inappropriate doses of amiodarone can lead to serious adverse effects (e.g., prolonged QTc interval, vision impairment, pulmonary toxicities) and can be more pronounced in older adults.