In the post resuscitation protocol, amiodarone maintenance infusion is ordered at what rate (mg/min)?

• A. 1 mg/min
• B. 2 mg/min
• C. 0.5 mg/min
• D. 10 mg/min

Answer: (A)

The main concept is the maintenance dosing after the amiodarone loading dose in the post-resuscitation protocol. After giving a bolus to rapidly achieve therapeutic levels, amiodarone is continued as an infusion to maintain those levels and prevent recurrent arrhythmias. The standard maintenance rate is 1 mg per minute for the next several hours, which sustains effective antiarrhythmic exposure while keeping toxicity risk reasonable. Later in the protocol the rate is reduced to 0.5 mg per minute, but the initial maintenance dose is 1 mg/min. Rates like 2 mg/min are unnecessarily high and increase adverse effects, and 10 mg/min is far outside standard dosing.