Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Liver disease in 4 dogs after amiodarone treatment
By Jacobs, G et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2000·Department of Small Animal Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Hepatopathy in 4 dogs treated with amiodarone.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Four dogs developed liver problems after being treated with amiodarone, a medication used for heart issues. Symptoms included loss of appetite and tiredness, which appeared 1.5 to 8 months after starting the medication. One dog didn't show any signs until the liver was already affected. After stopping the medication, the dogs' symptoms improved within two weeks, but it took 6 to 8 weeks for their liver enzyme levels to return to normal. This highlights the importance of monitoring liver health in dogs receiving amiodarone.
People also search for: dog liver problems after medication · amiodarone side effects in dogs · dog lethargy and loss of appetite · how long for liver enzymes to normalize in dogs
Abstract
Amiodarone is a class III antiarrhythmic drug used in dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy and ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Hepatopathy is one of the more commonly reported adverse effects of amiodarone use in people. We describe 4 dogs that developed hepatopathy associated with amiodarone administration; 2 dogs also developed neutropenia. Three dogs had clinical signs of anorexia and lethargy; 1 did not show signs until impaired liver function had developed. Clinical signs or biochemical abnormalities developed 1.5-8 months after amiodarone treatment was started. Clinical signs resolved within 2 weeks of discontinuing amiodarone, but biochemical abnormalities did not resolve for 6-8 weeks. The delay between onset of liver disease and overt clinical signs suggests that serial evaluation of liver enzyme activities following amiodarone use in does is important.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10668824/