Premium
Magnesium status and digoxin toxicity.
Author(s) -
Young IS,
Goh EM,
McKillop UH,
Stanford CF,
Nicholls DP,
Trimble ER
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
british journal of clinical pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.216
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1365-2125
pISSN - 0306-5251
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1991.tb03979.x
Subject(s) - digoxin , toxicity , medicine , magnesium , creatinine , diuretic , pharmacology , endocrinology , chemistry , heart failure , organic chemistry
1. Eighty‐one hospital patients receiving digoxin were separated into groups with and without digoxin toxicity using clinical criteria. Serum digoxin, sodium, potassium, calcium, creatinine, magnesium and monocyte magnesium concentrations were compared. 2. Subjects with digoxin toxicity had impaired colour vision (P less than 0.0001, Farnsworth‐ Munsell 100 hue test) and increased digoxin levels (1.89 (1.56‐2.21) vs 1.34 (1.20‐1.47) nmol l‐1, P less than 0.01) (mean (95% confidence limits], though there was considerable overlap between two groups. 3. Subjects with digoxin toxicity had lower levels of serum magnesium (0.80 (0.76‐0.84) vs 0.88 (0.85‐0.91) mmol l‐1, P less than 0.01) and monocyte magnesium (6.40 (5.65‐7.16) vs 8.76 (7.81‐9.71) mg g‐1 DNA, P less than 0.01), but there were no significant differences in other biochemical parameters. A greater proportion of toxic subjects were receiving concomitant diuretic therapy (20/21 vs 37/60, P less than 0.05). 4. Magnesium deficiency was the most frequently identified significant electrolyte disturbance in relation to digoxin toxicity. In the presence of magnesium deficiency digoxin toxicity developed at relatively low serum digoxin concentrations.