1. Severe ataxia caused by amiodarone.
- Author
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Krauser DG, Segal AZ, and Kligfield P
- Subjects
- Aged, 80 and over, Amiodarone therapeutic use, Anti-Arrhythmia Agents therapeutic use, Ataxia pathology, Atrial Fibrillation drug therapy, Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic drug therapy, Female, Humans, Severity of Illness Index, Amiodarone adverse effects, Anti-Arrhythmia Agents adverse effects, Ataxia chemically induced
- Abstract
Neurologic toxicity is an infrequently reported and under-recognized consequence of amiodarone, symptoms of which may include tremor, peripheral sensorimotor neuropathy, proximal weakness, and ataxia. The investigators report the rapid and complete remission of 4 months of progressively debilitating ataxia with the discontinuation of small-dose amiodarone in an elderly woman with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Despite the long half-life of amiodarone, her symptoms began to reduce after several days, and she was walking without assistance within 1 week. Wider recognition of this syndrome may avoid unnecessary and lengthy diagnostic evaluation and promote earlier neurologic recovery.
- Published
- 2005
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