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The majority of sudden cardiac deaths in children occur in patients with prior arrhythmias and an abnormal heart. Amiodarone was given to 39 young patients (35 with an abnormal heart) with arrhythmias unresponsive to conventional treatment. Their age ranged from 6 weeks to 30 years with nine patients younger than 2 years of age. Atrial flutter was present in 16 patients, ventricular tachycardia in 14 patients and supraventricular tachycardia in 9 patients. The most common diagnosis (14 patients) was postoperative repair of congenital heart disease. The dose ranged from 2.5 to 21.6 mg/kg per day (mean 8.2). Elimination of arrhythmia (on 24 hour electrocardiography) occurred in 15 of 16 patients with atrial flutter, 11 of 14 with ventricular tachycardia and 5 of 9 with supraventricular tachycardia. Symptomatic side effects were: rash (three patients), headache (two patients), nausea (one patient) and peripheral neuropathy (one patient); seven patients had asymptomatic corneal microdeposits which normalized in all after the drug was discontinued. No side effects occurred in patients younger than 10 years of age. The following changed with treatment (p less than 0.05): heart rate decreased (three patients with atrial flutter and sick sinus syndrome required pacemaker implantation for bradycardia) and QTc increased; thyroxine (T4) and serum reverse triiodothyronine (T3) increased. During follow-up study (range 6 months to 3 years), 21 of the 39 patients continued to take amiodarone with complete control of arrhythmias, 9 were no longer taking the drug and 9 died (7 nonsudden and 2 sudden deaths). Amiodarone is an extremely effective treatment for infants and children with tachyarrhythmias resistant to conventional treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)