Methods
The study included 99 consecutive patients hospitalized for digoxin toxicity. The study criteria for the inappropriate use of digoxin was regarded whether participants had not permanent AF or they had preserved left ventricular (LV) systolic function (EF>45%). Also the inappropriate use of digoxin was regarded whether participants with depressed systolic LV who are not on optimal medical therapy (beta-blocker and ACE inhibitor) or participants with permanent AF who are not on optimal beta-blocker therapy.
Methods
The study included 99 consecutive patients hospitalized for digoxin toxicity. The study criteria for the inappropriate use of digoxin was regarded whether participants had not permanent AF or they had preserved left ventricular (LV) systolic function (EF>45%). Also the inappropriate use of digoxin was regarded whether participants with depressed systolic LV who are not on optimal medical therapy (beta-blocker and ACE inhibitor) or participants with permanent AF who are not on optimal beta-blocker therapy.
Results
Appropriate digoxin usage was confirmed in 33 (33%) of patients in spite of its narrow therapeutic index. The mean digoxin plasma concentration of the patients was 3.34 ± 1.23 ng/mL. The correlation between the digoxin plasma concentration and the dose of digoxin was found to be r=0.26 (p=0.01). Besides, the correlation between the digoxin plasma concentration and the creatinine level was found to be r=0.29 (p=0.01). A total of 16 (16%) of 99 patients died, with a mean (SD) follow-up time of 22.1±10.3 months. During the follow-up period, 11 patients died, 6 (54.5%) of whom had been hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke. In the remaining five patients, sudden cardiac death occurred.
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