# amiodarone + normal saline



## zzyzx (Jun 3, 2012)

I have never known this but apparently amiodarone is not compatible with saline.

He states that it is okay to draw it up with NS and give it fast IV push during a cardiac arrest, but that if you mix it in a bag of NS and infuse it, the drug will precipitate.

I looked in my drug book, and the book does state that you should use D5 and an inline filter. It does not however warn of an incompatibility with NS.

I thought everything is compatible with NS?!!


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## medicsb (Jun 3, 2012)

zzyzx said:


> I have never known this but apparently amiodarone is not compatible with saline.
> 
> He states that it is okay to draw it up with NS and give it fast IV push during a cardiac arrest, but that if you mix it in a bag of NS and infuse it, the drug will precipitate.
> 
> ...



D5 is the manufacturer recommended solution and many texts will echo the manufacturer's recommendations.  There has been research that shows that NS will work fine for the short duration.  Google and/or pubmed.com will turn up some literature.


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## Moshi (Jun 7, 2012)

There are lots of articles on the internet that say giving Amiodarone without anything has better outcome than mixing it with NS or D5%. 
That's for cardiac arrest, ofcourse.


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## zzyzx (Jun 7, 2012)

Are there any other drugs that are not compatible with normal saline? It seems really odd to me that anything would not be compatible with an isotonic saline solution.


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