What is procainamide injection used for?

Procainamide injection is used to treat irregular heartbeats and to slow an overactive heart. When the heart has a normal heartbeat (rhythm), it will work more efficiently. Procainamide works by slowing the nerve impulses in the heart and reducing the sensitivity of heart tissues.

How is procainamide administered?

How is procainamide administered? A. According to advanced cardiac life support guidelines, give an initial dose of 20 mg/minute intravenously (I.V.) until the arrhythmia is suppressed or the patient develops hypotension or QRS complex widening of more than 50% from baseline.

What does procainamide do to the body?

What is procainamide injection? Procainamide is used to help keep the heart beating normally in people with certain heart rhythm disorders of the ventricles (the lower chambers of the heart that allow blood to flow out of the heart).

Can you give procainamide IV push?

Intravenous Administration Each 100 mg of procainamide must be diluted in 10 ml of sterile water for injection or D5W injection. Inject by slow IV push at a rate not to exceed 50 mg/minute.

When should I stop procainamide?

The use of procainamide should be stopped if any of the following occurs: Arrhythmia suppression. Onset of hypotension. QRS complex widening by greater than 50% of pretreatment width.

Does procainamide lower blood pressure?

As outlined above, procainamide loading decreased arterial and central venous pressures and increased heart rate. Both the frequency and amplitude of sympathetic burst dis- charges in the neurogram decreased, and in this subject, SNA decreased from 155 units/min to 63 units/min after procainamide infusion.

How long does it take procainamide to work?

Procainamide is given IV or PO with the onset of action in 10 to 30 minutes. The loading dose is of IV procainamide is 10 to 17 mg/kg and administered at a rate of 20 to 50 mg/min.

Is procainamide still used?

Procainamide was initially approved by the US FDA in 1950 and fell out of favor due to its side effect profile and the development of newer antiarrhythmics. Procainamide usage has increased in recent years, and it is now seen as a viable option for several arrhythmias.

Can procainamide cause fever?

Your doctor will order certain lab tests to check your response to procainamide. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: fever, chills, sore throat, bruising, bleeding, muscle aches or weakness, stomach or chest pain, skin rash, or blisters on the cheek, tongue and lips.

How often is procainamide used?

Procainamide comes as a capsule and tablet to take by mouth. Immediate-acting procainamide usually is taken every 3 or 4 hours. The long-acting product is usually taken every 6 or 12 hours.

How long does procainamide stay in your system?

Procainamide is rapidly eliminated (half-life, 3 to 4 hours) by hepatic metabolism and renal excretion of unchanged drug.

What is procainamide hydrochloride injection?

Procainamide Hydrochloride Injection, USP is a sterile, nonpyrogenic solution of procainamide hydrochloride in water for injection. Each milliliter of the 2 mL vial contains procainamide hydrochloride 500 mg; methylparaben 1 mg and sodium metabisulfite 1.8 mg added in water for injection.

Is procainamide an antiarrhythmic?

Procainamide is an Antiarrhythmic. Procainamide is an oral antiarrhythmic agent that has been in wide use for more than 60 years. Long term procainamide therapy is known to induce hypersensitivity reactions, autoantibody formation and a lupus-like syndrome but is a rare cause of clinically apparent acute liver injury.

Why is procainamide not given to patients with complete heart block?

Complete Heart Block: Procainamide should not be administered to patients with complete heart block because of its effects in suppressing nodal or ventricular pacemakers and the hazard of asystole.

What are the side effects of procainamide?

Because procainamide has the potential to produce serious hematological disorders (0.5 percent) particularly leukopenia or agranulocytosis (sometimes fatal), its use should be reserved for patients in whom, in the opinion of the physician, the benefits of treatment clearly outweigh the risks. (see WARNINGS and Boxed Warning .)