[Music] amiodarone is a class iii antiarrhythmic drug that is used to treat ventricular arrhythmias in this video i'll teach you my mnemonic to remember everything you need to know about amiodarone for test day so let's jump in we're under attack this soldier just got back to base and is reloading his gun with ammo before heading out to the front lines ammo is our symbol for the drug amiodarone because the word ammo sounds a lot like amiodarone don't you think in the hospital you'll probably hear amiodarone called just amio for short ammo amio amiodarone easy right now let's move on to learn how amiodarone is used in nursing that radio in the corner doesn't seem to be getting a very good signal those fumes in the air are creating interference causing this irregular wavy static on that screen here at pixer eyes static is our symbol for arrhythmias because that staticy line looks a lot like an irregular rhythm strip of an arrhythmia right amiodarone is a class iii antiarrhythmic drug meaning that it technically works by blocking potassium channels on the heart the specifics of this mechanism would be a very high level question on the nclex but blocking potassium channels on the heart makes the cardiac muscle cells take longer to reset after contracting this helps to slow down the heart rate and breaks the electrical circuit that causes arrhythmia which arrhythmias does amiodarone specifically treat let's find out when looking at this radio pay special attention to the antenna here to me that antenna looks a bit like the letter v can you see it this v-shaped antenna is our symbol for the ventricle since ventricles starts with the letter v this v-shaped antenna attached to our staticy radio helps me remember that amiodarone treats ventricular arrhythmias specifically ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia a v-shaped antenna for v-fib and v-tac got that amiodarone is a key part of the acls protocol for patients with these unstable heart rhythms so it's an important one to know now you may see amiodarone prescribed for patients to take it home orally for atrial fibrillation but that's technically an off-label use because it hasn't been approved by the fda for that use generally speaking this is only done in patients who also have a history of ventricular arrhythmias which we know amiodarone can treat since this is an off-label use we don't recommend you memorize it here but just be aware that amiodarone may be used outside of acls protocol and if a question arises talking about taking amiodarone for atrial fibrillation don't be alarmed the mechanisms and side effects remain the same speaking of side effects let's talk about those next this guy better hurry up and reload his gun with ammo because these fumes coming from the battlefront are toxic see how he's already coughing and pulling at his collar these toxic fumes causing a cough is our symbol for pulmonary toxicity just like breathing in toxic fumes is making it hard for this soldier to breathe amiodarone can cause pulmonary toxicity which manifests as coughing shortness of breath chest pain as well as crackles or rails in the lungs pulmonary toxicity is a very serious side effect as hypoxia and respiratory failure can be fatal if not treated wait a second this soldier hasn't even started reloading his gun he's still cleaning it it looks like he is using these long q-tips sitting here on the table it's a good thing that they're extra long q-tips because that helps to clean the long gun right these long q-tips are our symbol for qt prolongation a possible side effect of amiodarone get it long q-tips for a long qt interval remember how i mentioned earlier that amiodarone makes cardiac muscle cells take longer to reset after contracting well that manifests on an ekg as a prolonged qt interval the qt interval is measured from the beginning of the qrs complex to the end of the t qt prolongation is something you want to catch early because although rare it can lead to a dangerous arrhythmia called torso de point just know that patients taking amiodarone therapy will need cardiac monitoring okay based on the soldier's tattered ruined tie i'm guessing he's been on the front lines before by the way this runed tie reminds me of hypothyroidism because tai kind of sounds like thyroid plus they both have to do with your neck right and since this tie is ruined that can help you remember that amiodarone can cause hypothyroidism or decreased thyroid function amiodarone has high iodine content which is right in the middle of the name am iod orone this iodine content can directly affect the thyroid to cause it to lower thyroid hormone production if a patient is taking amiodarone for a long time you may want to test for thyroid function as hypothyroidism is a side effect of long-term use before we close i want to mention that this is not a comprehensive list of side effects seen with amiodarone instead we just wanted to cover the three most common side effects seen with amiodarone that are tested on the nclex exam for extra brownie points you can also remember that amiodarone can cause liver injury or hepatotoxicity in patients this actually has its own mnemonic in the hospital people will say to check pfts tfts and lfts with amiodarone as in pulmonary function tests thyroid function tests and liver function tests we didn't symbolize the liver injury here because it's not as important for nursing exams but that's not to say you shouldn't know it for real life alright i don't think we can wait for this soldier to clean and reload his gun much longer let's recap and move on out amiodarone is a class 3 antiarrhythmic drug used to treat ventricular arrhythmias specifically ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia amiodarone is most commonly used as part of acls protocol but may be prescribed for patients with atrial fibrillation and a history of ventricular arrhythmias to take it home importantly amiodarone has its fair share of side effects including pulmonary toxicity qt prolongation and hypothyroidism and that covers it for amiodarone now you'll be prepared for all of the amiodarone questions on test day now let's get out of this war zone before it's too late i'll see you in the next one thanks for watching for more videos like this one subscribe to our channel and check out our newest lessons for more resources on this topic including fact lists and interactive review images click the image next to the more here arrow i'll see you next time