Amiodarone-induced pulmonary fibrosis in hamsters

J. O. Cantor, M. Osman, J. M. Cerreta, R. Suarez, I. Mandl, G. M. Turino

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

49 Scopus citations

Abstract

Amiodarone, a cardiac antiarrhythmic agent, has been associated with the development of interstitial pulmonary fibrosis in patients receiving prolonged therapy with the drug. To further assess the toxic effects of amiodarone on lung tissue, Syrian hamsters were given a single intratracheal insufflation of the agent and evaluated for histologic evidence of lung injury. Control animals received intratracheal insufflations of the vehicle in which amiodarone was dissolved. After an initial, transient alveolitis in both experimental and control animals, the amiodarone-treated lungs developed increased interstitial thickening due to fibrinous exudates, alveolar epithelial hyperplasia, inflammatory cell infiltrates, and marked deposition of collagen manifested on trichrome staining. Controls, in contrast, showed nearly complete resolution of the initial alveolitis. An unusual feature of the amiodarone-induced lung injury was reemergence of the alveolitis between 5 and 14 days, which included a marked influx of eosinophils into the lung. Although the precise mechanism of the lung injury is not known, the persistence of the acute inflammatory cells as well as the presence of eosinophils suggests a hypersensitivity-type reaction. Furthermore, the progression of lung injury to fibrosis after a single insult with the drug suggests that mere discontinuation of amiodarone therapy in humans may not reverse the disease process, but that corticosteroid therapy may also be required. Amiodarone appears to be a useful agent to induce diffuse fihrotic reactions in the lung that morphologically resemble idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in humans.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-10
Number of pages10
JournalExperimental Lung Research
Volume6
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1984
Externally publishedYes

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