Cardiopulmonary effects of chronic amiodarone therapy in the early postoperative course of cardiac surgery patients

Abstract

We compared the early postoperative course of 28 consecutive patients who underwent cardiac surgery while on amiodarone therapy (group 1) with the consecutive 28 patients who underwent similar surgery and were later given amiodarone (group 2). Group 1 patients received a cumulative dose of 373.6 ± 546.2 mg/kg amiodarone over a period of 60.5 ± 107.5 days. Preoperatively, sustained ventricular tachycardia (P