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Tissue and erythrocyte distribution of digoxin in infants
Author(s) -
Gorodischer Rafael,
Jusko William J.,
Vaffe Sumner J.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.941
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1532-6535
pISSN - 0009-9236
DOI - 10.1002/cpt1976193256
Subject(s) - digoxin , distribution (mathematics) , medicine , volume of distribution , endocrinology , linear relationship , serum concentration , chemistry , heart failure , pharmacokinetics , mathematical analysis , statistics , mathematics
The distribution of digoxin in the myocardium, skeletal muscle, erythrocytes, and plasma (or serum) was studied in 19 infants. There was a linear relationship between myocardium and serum concentrations and no saturation was observed over the serum concentration range of 0.5–8.6 ng/ml. Myocardium uptake of digoxin was nearly twice as great in infants as in adults at any given serum concentration. Erythrocyte :plasma concentration ratios of digoxin were one‐third smaller during digitalization than during maintenance digoxin therapy. The latter ratios were also three times greater in infants than found previously in adults. Their findings are consistent with a greater apparent volume of distribution of digoxin in infants and may partly explain the unusually large therapeutic doses needed in infants.