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Digoxin toxicity

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Digoxin toxicity
Classification and external resources
Digitalis purpurea drawings by Franz Köhler
ICD-10	T46.0
ICD-9	972.1

Digoxin toxicity is a poisoning that occurs when excess doses of digoxin (aka digitalis) are consumed acutely or over an extended period of time.

Contents [hide] 1 Classification 2 Symptoms 3 Treatment 4 See also 5 References

[edit] Classification

Digoxin toxicity is often divided into acute or chronic. The theraputic level for digoxin is 0.8-2.0 ng/mL. Low serum potassium increases the risk of digoxin toxicity and cardiac dysrhythmias. The classic arrhythmia is a paroxysmal atrial tachycardia with block.

[edit] Symptoms

Symptoms include hypersalivation, fatigue, nausea/vomiting, changes in heart rate and rhythm, loss of appetite (anorexia), diarrhea, visual disturbances (yellow or green halos around objects), confusion, dizziness, nightmares, agitation, and/or depression, as well as a higher acute sense of sensual activities.

[edit] Treatment

The primary treatment of digoxin toxicity is digoxin immune Fab. Digoxin should not be given if the apical heart rate is below 60 BPM (beats per minute).

Other treatment that may be tried to treat life-threatening arrhythmias, until digoxin Immune Fab is acquired are magnesium, phenytoin, and lidocaine.^[1]

atropine is also used in cases of bradyarrhythmias

[edit] See also

• Toxicology