Baxter Healthcare Corp.
Product Description:0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection USP, 50 mL Single Dose VIAFLEX Container bags, Rx only, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Deerfield, IL 60015, Product Code 2B1301, NDC 0338-0049-11.
Status:Ongoing
City:Deerfield
State:IL
Country:US
Voluntary/Mandated:Voluntary: Firm Initiated
Initial Firm Notification:Letter
Distribution Pattern:Nationwide
Classification:Class I
Product Quantity:189,120 bags
Reason For Recall:Presence of Particulate Matter: Customer complaint for an insect found free floating inside a single bag for each lot recalled.
Recall Initiation Date:20150717
Report Date:20150826

Amiodarone Hydrochloride

Amiodarone Hydrochloride

Amiodarone Hydrochloride Recall

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Questions & Answers

Side Effects & Adverse Reactions

Amiodarone hydrochloride is intended for use only in patients with the indicated life-threatening arrhythmias because its use is accompanied by substantial toxicity.

Amiodarone hydrochloride has several potentially fatal toxicities, the most important of which is pulmonary toxicity (hypersensitivity pneumonitis or interstitial/alveolar pneumonitis) that has resulted in clinically manifest disease at rates as high as 10% to 17% in some series of patients with ventricular arrhythmias given doses around 400 mg/day, and as abnormal diffusion capacity without symptoms in a much higher percentage of patients. Pulmonary toxicity has been fatal about 10% of the time. Liver injury is common with amiodarone hydrochloride, but is usually mild and evidenced only by abnormal liver enzymes. Overt liver disease can occur, however, and has been fatal in a few cases. Like other antiarrhythmics, amiodarone hydrochloride can exacerbate the arrhythmia, e.g., by making the arrhythmia less well tolerated or more difficult to reverse. This has occurred in 2% to 5% of patients in various series, and significant heart block or sinus bradycardia has been seen in 2% to 5%. All of these events should be manageable in the proper clinical setting in most cases. Although the frequency of such proarrhythmic events does not appear greater with amiodarone hydrochloride than with many other agents used in this population, the effects are prolonged when they occur.

Even in patients at high risk of arrhythmic death, in whom the toxicity of amiodarone hydrochloride is an acceptable risk,amiodarone hydrochloride poses major management problems that could be life-threatening in a population at risk of sudden death, so that every effort should be made to utilize alternative agents first.

The difficulty of using amiodarone hydrochloride effectively and safely itself poses a significant risk to patients. Patients with the indicated arrhythmias must be hospitalized while the loading dose of amiodarone hydrochloride is given and a response generally requires at least one week, usually two or more. Because absorption and elimination are variable, maintenance-dose selection is difficult, and it is not unusual to require dosage decrease or discontinuation of treatment. In a retrospective survey of 192 patients with ventricular tachyarrhythmias, 84 required dose reduction and 18 required at least temporary discontinuation because of adverse effects, and several series have reported 15% to 20% overall frequencies of discontinuation due to adverse reactions. The time at which a previously controlled life-threatening arrhythmia will recur after discontinuation or dose adjustment is unpredictable, ranging from weeks to months. The patient is obviously at great risk during this time and may need prolonged hospitalization. Attempts to substitute other antiarrhythmic agents when amiodarone hydrochloride must be stopped will be made difficult by the gradually, but unpredictably, changing amiodarone body burden. A similar problem exists when amiodarone hydrochloride is not effective; it still poses the risk of an interaction with whatever subsequent treatment is tried.

 

In the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial (CAST), a long-term, multi-centered, randomized, double-blind study in patients with asymptomatic non-life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias who had had myocardial infarctions more than six days but less than two years previously, an excessive mortality or non-fatal cardiac arrest rate was seen in patients treated with encainide or flecainide (56/730) compared with that seen in patients assigned to matched placebo-treated groups (22/725). The average duration of treatment with encainide or flecainide in this study was ten months.

Amiodarone hydrochloride therapy was evaluated in two multi-centered, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials involving 1202 (Canadian Amiodarone Myocardial Infarction Arrhythmia Trial; CAMIAT) and 1486 (European Myocardial Infarction Amiodarone Trial; EMIAT) post-MI patients followed for up to 2 years. Patients in CAMIAT qualified with ventricular arrhythmias, and those randomized to amiodarone received weight- and response-adjusted doses of 200 mg/day to 400 mg/day. Patients in EMIAT qualified with ejection fraction <40%, and those randomized to amiodarone received fixed doses of 200 mg/day. Both studies had weeks-long loading dose schedules. Intent-to-treat all-cause mortality results were as follows:

Placebo

Amiodarone

Relative Risk

N

Deaths

N

Deaths

95%CI

EMIAT

743

102

743

103

0.99

0.76-1.31

CAMIAT

596

68

606

57

0.88

0.58-1.16

These data are consistent with the results of a pooled analysis of smaller, controlled studies involving patients with structural heart disease (including myocardial infarction).

 

There have been post-marketing reports of acute-onset (days to weeks) pulmonary injury in patients treated with oral amiodarone hydrochloride with or without initial I.V. therapy. Findings have included pulmonary infiltrates and/or mass on X-ray, pulmonary alveolar hemorrhage, pleural effusion, bronchospasm, wheezing, fever, dyspnea, cough, hemoptysis, and hypoxia. Some cases have progressed to respiratory failure and/or death. Post-marketing reports describe cases of pulmonary toxicity in patients treated with low doses of amiodarone hydrochloride; however, reports suggest that the use of lower loading and maintenance doses of amiodarone hydrochloride are associated with a decreased incidence of amiodarone hydrochloride-induced pulmonary toxicity.

Amiodarone hydrochloride tablets may cause a clinical syndrome of cough and progressive dyspnea accompanied by functional, radiographic, gallium-scan, and pathological data consistent with pulmonary toxicity, the frequency of which varies from 2% to 7% in most published reports, but is as high as 10% to 17% in some reports. Therefore, when amiodarone hydrochloride therapy is initiated, a baseline chest X-ray and pulmonary-function tests, including diffusion capacity, should be performed. The patient should return for a history, physical exam, and chest X-ray every 3 to 6 months.

Pulmonary toxicity secondary to amiodarone hydrochloride seem to result from either indirect or direct toxicity as represented by hypersensitivity pneumonitis (including eosinophilic pneumonia) or interstitial/alveolar pneumonitis, respectively.

Patients with preexisting pulmonary disease have a poorer prognosis if pulmonary toxicity develops.

Hypersensitivity Pneumonitisusually appears earlier in the course of therapy, and rechallenging these patients with amiodarone hydrochloride results in a more rapid recurrence of greater severity.

Bronchoalveolar lavage is the procedure of choice to confirm this diagnosis, which can be made when a T suppressor/cytotoxic (CD8-positive) lymphocytosis is noted. Steroid therapy should be instituted and amiodarone hydrochloride therapy discontinued in these patients.

Interstitial/Alveolar Pneumonitismay result from the release of oxygen radicals and/or phospholipidosis and is characterized by findings of diffuse alveolar damage, interstitial pneumonitis or fibrosis in lung biopsy specimens. Phospholipidosis (foamy cells, foamy macrophages), due to inhibition of phospholipase, will be present in most cases of amiodarone hydrochloride-induced pulmonary toxicity; however, these changes also are present in approximately 50% of all patients on amiodarone hydrochloride therapy. These cells should be used as markers of therapy, but not as evidence of toxicity. A diagnosis of amiodarone hydrochloride-induced interstitial/alveolar pneumonitis should lead, at a minimum, to dose reduction or, preferably, to withdrawal of the amiodarone hydrochloride to establish reversibility, especially if other acceptable antiarrhythmic therapies are available. Where these measures have been instituted, a reduction in symptoms of amiodarone-induced pulmonary toxicity was usually noted within the first week, and a clinical improvement was greatest in the first two to three weeks. Chest X-ray changes usually resolve within two to four months. According to some experts, steroids may prove beneficial. Prednisone in doses of 40 mg/day to 60 mg/day or equivalent doses of other steroids have been given and tapered over the course of several weeks depending upon the condition of the patient. In some cases rechallenge with amiodarone hydrochloride at a lower dose has not resulted in return of toxicity.

In a patient receiving amiodarone hydrochloride, any new respiratory symptoms should suggest the possibility of pulmonary toxicity, and the history, physical exam, chest X-ray, and pulmonary-function tests (with diffusion capacity) should be repeated and evaluated. A 15% decrease in diffusion capacity has a high sensitivity but only a moderate specificity for pulmonary toxicity; as the decrease in diffusion capacity approaches 30%, the sensitivity decreases but the specificity increases. A gallium-scan also may be performed as part of the diagnostic workup.

Fatalities, secondary to pulmonary toxicity, have occurred in approximately 10% of cases. However, in patients with life-threatening arrhythmias, discontinuation of amiodarone hydrochloride therapy due to suspected drug-induced pulmonary toxicity should be undertaken with caution, as the most common cause of death in these patients is sudden cardiac death. Therefore, every effort should be made to rule out other causes of respiratory impairment (i.e., congestive heart failure with Swan-Ganz catheterization if necessary, respiratory infection, pulmonary embolism, malignancy, etc.) before discontinuing amiodarone hydrochloride in these patients. In addition, bronchoalveolar lavage, transbronchial lung biopsy and/or open lung biopsy may be necessary to confirm the diagnosis, especially in those cases where no acceptable alternative therapy is available.

If a diagnosis of amiodarone hydrochloride-induced hypersensitivity pneumonitis is made, amiodarone hydrochloride should be discontinued, and treatment with steroids should be instituted. If a diagnosis of amiodarone hydrochloride-induced interstitial/alveolar pneumonitis is made, steroid therapy should be instituted and, preferably, amiodarone hydrochloride discontinued or, at a minimum, reduced in dosage. Some cases of amiodarone hydrochloride-induced interstitial/alveolar pneumonitis may resolve following a reduction in amiodarone hydrochloride dosage in conjunction with the administration of steroids. In some patients, rechallenge at a lower dose has not resulted in return of interstitial/alveolar pneumonitis; however, in some patients (perhaps because of severe alveolar damage) the pulmonary lesions have not been reversible.

 

Amiodarone hydrochloride, like other antiarrhythmics, can cause serious exacerbation of the presenting arrhythmia, a risk that may be enhanced by the presence of concomitant antiarrhythmics. Exacerbation has been reported in about 2% to 5% in most series, and has included new ventricular fibrillation, incessant ventricular tachycardia, increased resistance to cardioversion, and polymorphic ventricular tachycardia associated with QTc prolongation (Torsade de Pointes [TdP]). In addition, amiodarone hydrochloride has caused symptomatic bradycardia or sinus arrest with suppression of escape foci in 2% to 4% of patients.

Fluoroquinolones, macrolide antibiotics, and azoles are known to cause QTc prolongation. There have been reports of QTc prolongation, with or without TdP, in patients taking amiodarone when fluoroquinolones, macrolide antibiotics, or azoles were administered concomitantly (see Drug Interactions, Other reported interactions with amiodarone).

The need to co-administer amiodarone with any other drug known to prolong the QTc interval must be based on a careful assessment of the potential risks and benefits of doing so for each patient.

A careful assessment of the potential risks and benefits of administering amiodarone hydrochloride must be made in patients with thyroid dysfunction due to the possibility of arrhythmia breakthrough or exacerbation of arrhythmia in these patients.

 

In patients with implanted defibrillators or pacemakers, chronic administration of antiarrhythmic drugs may affect pacing or defibrillating thresholds. Therefore, at the inception of and during amiodarone treatment, pacing and defibrillation thresholds should be assessed.

 

Amiodarone hydrochloride-induced hyperthyroidism may result in thyrotoxicosis and/or the possibility of arrhythmia breakthrough or aggravation. There have been reports of death associated with amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis. IF ANY NEW SIGNS OF ARRHYTHMIA APPEAR, THE POSSIBILITY OF HYPERTHYROIDISM SHOULD BE CONSIDERED (see PRECAUTIONS, Thyroid Abnormalities).

 

Elevations of hepatic enzyme levels are seen frequently in patients exposed to amiodarone hydrochloride and in most cases are asymptomatic. If the increase exceeds three times normal, or doubles in a patient with an elevated baseline, discontinuation of amiodarone hydrochloride or dosage reduction should be considered. In a few cases in which biopsy has been done, the histology has resembled that of alcoholic hepatitis or cirrhosis. Hepatic failure has been a rare cause of death in patients treated with amiodarone hydrochloride.

 

Cases of optic neuropathy and/or optic neuritis, usually resulting in visual impairment, have been reported in patients treated with amiodarone. In some cases, visual impairment has progressed to permanent blindness. Optic neuropathy and/or neuritis may occur at any time following initiation of therapy. A causal relationship to the drug has not been clearly established. If symptoms of visual impairment appear, such as changes in visual acuity and decreases in peripheral vision, prompt ophthalmic examination is recommended. Appearance of optic neuropathy and/or neuritis calls for re-evaluation of amiodarone hydrochloride therapy. The risks and complications of antiarrhythmic therapy with amiodarone hydrochloride must be weighed against its benefits in patients whose lives are threatened by cardiac arrhythmias. Regular ophthalmic examination, including funduscopy and slit-lamp examination, is recommended during administration of amiodarone hydrochloride (see ADVERSE REACTIONS).

 

Amiodarone hydrochloride can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Although amiodarone hydrochloride use during pregnancy is uncommon, there have been a small number of published reports of congenital goiter/hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. If amiodarone hydrochloride is used during pregnancy, or if the patient becomes pregnant while taking amiodarone hydrochloride, the patient should be apprised of the potential hazard to the fetus.

In general, amiodarone hydrochloride should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit to the mother justifies the unknown risk to the fetus.

In pregnant rats and rabbits, amiodarone HCl in doses of 25 mg/kg/day (approximately 0.4 and 0.9 times, respectively, the maximum recommended human maintenance dose*) had no adverse effects on the fetus. In the rabbit, 75 mg/kg/day (approximately 2.7 times the maximum recommended human maintenance dose*) caused abortions in greater than 90% of the animals. In the rat, doses of 50 mg/kg/day or more were associated with slight displacement of the testes and an increased incidence of incomplete ossification of some skull and digital bones; at 100 mg/kg/day or more, fetal body weights were reduced; at 200 mg/kg/day, there was an increased incidence of fetal resorption. (These doses in the rat are approximately 0.8, 1.6 and 3.2 times the maximum recommended human maintenance dose*.) Adverse effects on fetal growth and survival also were noted in one of two strains of mice at a dose of 5 mg/kg/day (approximately 0.04 times the maximum recommended human maintenance dose*).

*600 mg in a 50 kg patient (doses compared on a body surface area basis)

 

Legal Issues

There is currently no legal information available for this drug.

FDA Safety Alerts

There are currently no FDA safety alerts available for this drug.

Manufacturer Warnings

There is currently no manufacturer warning information available for this drug.

FDA Labeling Changes

There are currently no FDA labeling changes available for this drug.

Uses

Because of its life-threatening side effects and the substantial management difficulties associated with its use (see WARNINGSbelow), amiodarone hydrochloride tablets are indicated only for the treatment of the following documented, life-threatening recurrent ventricular arrhythmias when these have not responded to documented adequate doses of other available antiarrhythmics or when alternative agents could not be tolerated.

1.Recurrent ventricular fibrillation.2.Recurrent hemodynamically unstable ventricular tachycardia.

As is the case for other antiarrhythmic agents, there is no evidence from controlled trials that the use of amiodarone hydrochloride tablets favorably affects survival.

Amiodarone hydrochloride tablets should be used only by physicians familiar with and with access to (directly or through referral) the use of all available modalities for treating recurrent life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias, and who have access to appropriate monitoring facilities, including in-hospital and ambulatory continuous electrocardiographic monitoring and electrophysiologic techniques. Because of the life-threatening nature of the arrhythmias treated, potential interactions with prior therapy, and potential exacerbation of the arrhythmia, initiation of therapy with amiodarone hydrochloride tablets should be carried out in the hospital.

 

History

There is currently no drug history available for this drug.

Other Information

Amiodarone hydrochloride tablets are a member of a class of antiarrhythmic drugs with predominantly Class III (Vaughan Williams’ classification) effects, available for oral administration as yellow, scored tablets. Each tablet for oral administration contains 200 mg of amiodarone hydrochloride. In addition, each tablet contains the following inactive ingredients: colloidal silicon dioxide, corn starch, lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, povidone, and D&C yellow No. 10 aluminum lake. Amiodarone hydrochloride tablets are a benzofuran derivative: 2-butyl-3-benzofuranyl 4-[2-(diethylamino)-ethoxy]-3,5-diiodophenyl ketone hydrochloride.

The structural formula is as follows:

MM1

C25H29I2NO3 • HCl Molecular Weight: 681.8

Amiodarone hydrochloride is a white to cream-colored crystalline powder. It is slightly soluble in water, soluble in alcohol, and freely soluble in chloroform. It contains 37.3% iodine by weight.

 

Amiodarone Hydrochloride Manufacturers


  • Remedyrepack Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Remedyrepack Inc. ]
  • Cardinal Health
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Cardinal Health]
  • State Of Florida Doh Central Pharmacy
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [State Of Florida Doh Central Pharmacy]
  • Apotex Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride (Amiodarone Hydrochloride ) Injection, Solution [Apotex Inc.]
  • Wockhardt Usa Llc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Injection [Wockhardt Usa Llc.]
  • Wockhardt Usa Llc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Injection [Wockhardt Usa Llc.]
  • Physicians Total Care, Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Physicians Total Care, Inc.]
  • Rebel Distributors Corp
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Rebel Distributors Corp]
  • Cadila Healthcare Limited
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Cadila Healthcare Limited]
  • Remedyrepack Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Remedyrepack Inc. ]
  • Golden State Medical Supply, Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Golden State Medical Supply, Inc.]
  • App Pharmaceuticals, Llc
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Injection, Solution [App Pharmaceuticals, Llc]
  • Physicians Total Care, Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Injection, Solution [Physicians Total Care, Inc.]
  • Mckesson Contract Packaging
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Mckesson Contract Packaging]
  • Wockhardt Limited
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Injection [Wockhardt Limited]
  • West-ward Pharmaceutical Corp
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Injection, Solution [West-ward Pharmaceutical Corp]
  • General Injectables & Vaccines, Inc
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Injection, Solution [General Injectables & Vaccines, Inc]
  • Mylan Institutional Llc
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Injection, Solution [Mylan Institutional Llc]
  • Hospira, Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Injection, Solution [Hospira, Inc.]
  • Sagent Pharmaceuticals
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Injection, Solution [Sagent Pharmaceuticals]
  • Mylan Institutional Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Mylan Institutional Inc.]
  • Ncs Healthcare Of Ky, Inc Dba Vangard Labs
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Ncs Healthcare Of Ky, Inc Dba Vangard Labs]
  • General Injectables & Vaccines, Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Injection, Solution, Concentrate [General Injectables & Vaccines, Inc.]
  • Hospira, Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Injection, Solution [Hospira, Inc.]
  • American Health Packaging
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [American Health Packaging]
  • Zydus Pharmaceuticals (Usa) Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Zydus Pharmaceuticals (Usa) Inc.]
  • Taro Pharmaceuticals U.s.a., Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Taro Pharmaceuticals U.s.a., Inc.]
  • Teva Pharmaceuticals Usa Inc
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Teva Pharmaceuticals Usa Inc]
  • Eon Labs, Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Eon Labs, Inc.]
  • Mckesson Packaging A Business Unit Of Mckesson Corporation
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Mckesson Packaging A Business Unit Of Mckesson Corporation]
  • Remedyrepack Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Remedyrepack Inc. ]
  • Cardinal Health
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Cardinal Health]
  • Apotex Corp
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Apotex Corp]
  • General Injectables And Vaccines, Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Injection [General Injectables And Vaccines, Inc.]
  • Remedyrepack Inc.
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Injection, Solution [Remedyrepack Inc. ]
  • Lake Erie Medical Dba Quality Care Products Llc
    Amiodarone Hydrochloride Tablet [Lake Erie Medical Dba Quality Care Products Llc]

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