Amiodarone supplants lidocaine in ACLS and CPR protocols.

Amiodarone is an antiarrhythmic medication used to treat and prevent certain types of serious, life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. Amiodarone gained slow acceptance outside the specialized field of cardiac antiarrhythmic surgery because the side-effects are significant. Recent adoption of amiodarone in the ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) protocol has somewhat popularized this class of antiarrhythmics. Its use is slowly expanding in the acute medicine setting of anesthetics. This article summarizes the use of Amiodarone by anesthesiologists in the operating room and during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.