Nexterone
- Generic Name: amiodarone hcl injection
- Brand Name: Nexterone
- Drug Class: Antidysrhythmics, III
Nexterone (Amiodarone HCl Injection) side effects drug center
Nexterone Side Effects Center
Nexterone (amiodarone HC1) Injection is an antiarrhythmic drug used to help keep the heart beating normally in people with life-threatening heart rhythm disorders of the ventricles (the lower chambers of the heart that allow blood to flow out of the heart). Nexterone is used to treat or prevent ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. Nexterone is available in generic form. Common side effects of Nexterone include:
- low fever
- slight dizziness
- nausea
- vomiting
- slow heart rate
- low blood pressure, or
- abnormal liver function tests
The recommended starting dose of Nexterone is about 1000 mg over the first 24 hours of therapy. Close monitoring with adjustment of dose is essential. Nexterone may interact with cimetidine, clopidogrel, cyclosporine, dextromethorphan, digoxin, fentanyl, loratadine, phenytoin, St. John's wort, blood thinners, diuretics, antibiotics, antifungals, arthritis medications, cholesterol-lowering medicines, heart or blood pressure medications, heart rhythm medications, insulin or oral diabetes medication, or medication to treat HIV or AIDS. Tell your doctor all medications and supplements you use. Do not use Nexterone if you are pregnant. It could harm the fetus. Use birth control, and tell your doctor if you become pregnant during treatment. This drug can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. Do not breastfeed while receiving this medication.
Our Nexterone (amiodarone HC1) Injection Side Effects Drug Center provides a comprehensive view of available drug information on the potential side effects when taking this medication.
Nexterone Consumer Information
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Amiodarone takes a long time to completely clear from your body. You may continue to have side effects from amiodarone after you stop using it. It could take up to several months for the medicine to completely clear from your body.
Call your doctor at once if you have any of these side effects, even if they occur up to several months after you stop using amiodarone:
- a new or a worsening irregular heartbeat pattern;
- fast, slow, or pounding heartbeats;
- a light-headed feeling, like you might pass out;
- wheezing, cough, chest pain, trouble breathing, coughing up blood;
- shortness of breath (even with mild exertion), swelling, rapid weight gain;
- blurred vision, vision loss, headache or pain behind your eyes, sometimes with vomiting;
- swelling, pain, redness, or irritation around your IV needle;
- weight loss, thinning hair, feeling too hot or too cold, increased sweating, irregular menstrual periods, swelling in your neck (goiter);
- pain in your upper stomach, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); or
- little or no urinating.
Common side effects may include:
- low fever;
- slight dizziness; or
- mild nausea, vomiting.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Read the entire detailed patient monograph for Nexterone (Amiodarone HCl Injection)
Nexterone Professional Information
SIDE EFFECTS
The following adverse reactions are described in WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS: hypotension, rhythm disturbances, hepatic injury, pulmonary injury, thyroid injury, hypersensitivity.
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.
In a total of 1836 patients in controlled and uncontrolled clinical trials, 14% of patients received intravenous amiodarone for at least one week, 5% received it for at least 2 weeks, 2% received it for at least 3 weeks, and 1% received it for more than 3 weeks, without an increased incidence of severe adverse reactions. The mean duration of therapy in these studies was 5.6 days; median exposure was 3.7 days.
The most important adverse reactions were hypotension, asystole/cardiac arrest/pulseless electrical activity (PEA), cardiogenic shock, congestive heart failure, bradycardia, liver function test abnormalities, VT, and AV block. Overall, treatment was discontinued for about 9% of the patients because of adverse reactions. The most common adverse reactions leading to discontinuation of intravenous amiodarone therapy were hypotension (1.6%), asystole/cardiac arrest/PEA (1.2%), VT (1.1%), and cardiogenic shock (1%).
Table 4 lists the most common (incidence ≥ 2%) adverse reactions during intravenous amiodarone therapy considered at least possibly drug-related. These data were collected in clinical trials involving 1836 patients with life-threatening VT/VF. Data from all assigned treatment groups are pooled because none of the adverse reactions appeared to be dose-related.
Table 4: ADVERSE REACTIONS
IN PATIENTS RECEIVING INTRAVENOUS AMIODARONE IN CONTROLLED AND OPEN-LABEL
STUDIES ( ≥ 2% INCIDENCE)
| Study Event | Controlled Studies (n = 814) |
Open-Label Studies (n = 1022) |
Total (n = 1836) |
| Body as a whole | |||
| Fever | 24(2.9%) | 13 (1.2%) | 37 (2.0%) |
| Cardiovascular System | |||
| Bradycardia | 49(6.0%) | 41 (4.0%) | 90 (4.9%) |
| Congestive heart failure | 18(2.2%) | 21 (2.0%) | 39 (2.1%) |
| Heart arrest | 29(3.5%) | 26 (2.5%) | 55 (2.9%) |
| Hypotension | 165(20.2%) | 123 (12.0%) | 288 (15.6%) |
| Ventricular tachycardia | 15(1.8%) | 30 (2.9%) | 45 (2.4%) |
| Digestive System | |||
| Liver function tests abnormal | 35(4.2%) | 29 (2.8%) | 64 (3.4%) |
| Nausea | 29(3.5%) | 43 (4.2%) | 72 (3.9%) |
Other adverse reactions reported in less than 2% of patients receiving intravenous amiodarone in controlled and uncontrolled studies included the following: abnormal kidney function, atrial fibrillation, diarrhea, increased ALT, increased AST, lung edema, nodal arrhythmia, prolonged QT interval, atrioventricular block, respiratory disorder, shock, sinus bradycardia, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, thrombocytopenia, VF, and vomiting.
Post-Marketing Experience
The following adverse reactions have been reported in the post-marketing experience during or in close temporal relationship to intravenous amiodarone administration. 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.
Blood and Lymphatic System Disorders: pancytopenia, neutropenia, hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and granulocytosis.
Cardiac Disorders: sinus node dysfunction (sinus arrest, sinoatrial block), intraventricular conduction disorders including bundle branch block and infra-HIS block, bradycardia (sometimes fatal), ventricular extrasystoles, and antegrade conduction via an accessory pathway.
Endocrine Disorders: syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH)
Eye Disorders: visual field defect and blurred vision.
Gastrointestinal Disorders: pancreatitis.
General Disorders and Administration Site Conditions: infusion site reactions, including thombosis, phlebitis, thrombophlebitis, cellulitis, pain, induration, edema, inflammation, urticaria, pruritus, erythema, pigment changes, hypoesthesia, skin sloughing, extravasation possibly leading to venous/infusion site necrosis, intravascular amiodarone deposition/mass (developed in the superior vena cava around acentral venous catheter after long – term [28 days] amiodarone therapy administered through a central line), and granuloma.
Hepatobiliary Disorders: cholestasis, cirrhosis, jaundice, alkaline phosphatase and blood lactate dehydrogenase increase.
Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue Disorders: myopathy, muscle weakness, rhabdomyolysis, muscle spasms, and back pain.
Neoplasms benign, malignant and unspecified (incl cysts and polyps) Disorders: thyroid nodules/thyroid cancer.
Nervous System Disorders: intracranial pressure increased, pseudotumor cerebri, tremor, dizziness and hypoesthesia.
Psychiatric Disorders: confusional state, hallucination, disorientation, and delirium.
Renal and Urinary Disorders: acute renal failure (sometimes fatal), renal impairment, renal insufficiency, and blood creatinine increased.
Reproductive Disorders and Breast Disorders: Epididymitis
Respiratory, Thoracic and Mediastinal Disorders: interstitial pneumonitis, bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (possibly fatal), pulmonary alveolar hemorrhage, pulmonary phospholipidoisis, pleural effusion, bronchospasm, dyspnea, cough, hemoptysis, wheezing, and hypoxia.
Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders: toxic epidermal necrolysis (sometimes fatal), Stevens-Johnson syndrome, exfoliative dermatitis, erythema multiforme, skin cancer, pruritus, angioedema, and urticaria.
Vascular Disorders: vasculitis and flushing.
Read the entire FDA prescribing information for Nexterone (Amiodarone HCl Injection)
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&Copy; Nexterone Patient Information is supplied by Cerner Multum, Inc. and Nexterone Consumer information is supplied by First Databank, Inc., used under license and subject to their respective copyrights.