What factors affect Digitalis dosing?

While herbal Foxglove, also known as digitalis , European herbalists to treat heart conditions for centuries, only in 1785 were first mentioned in medical literature in English. The integration of this plant into health material was considered to be the beginning of the use of drug therapies in conventional Western medicine. After the estate later, the heart glycoside digoxin or digitoxin was isolated and determined as the principle of the therapeutic component of the herb and has since remained the most commonly used drug for the treatment of atrial fibrillation in congestive heart failure. Due to the wide variance in the individual response to digoxin, it is important to adapt the dosage of each individual patient digitalis to ensure that he or she receives optimal therapeutic activity and experiences as few side effects as possible. Other factors that may require dosage adjustments digitalis are the age of the patient, myight, kidney health, diagnosis of related health and drugsHo mode.

Since it is assumed that digoxin works both inhibiting the sodium of sodium sodium ATP-any, as well as direct effect on the nerves of the vagus, drugs that increase the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, or affect the level of body ions. If these drugs cannot be interrupted and must be used together with digitalis , dosing adjustments and direct medical supervision are likely to be required. Dronedarone and Amiodarone may increase blood digoxin levels, which must be reduced digitalis .

Patients undergoing atrial fibrillation should ideally receive dosage digitalis carefully modified to maintain digoxin body more than 8 to 12 mcg per kilogram of body weight, which is generally recommended by patients with congestive heart failure. Low initial doses can be gradually increased under medical supervision to determine plasmaTical levels of drug. It is essential that the smallest possible clinically effective dosage of digitalis is used to reduce the incidence of side effects.

It is believed that pediatric patients process digoxin differently than adults, which is necessary to use lower digitalis per kilogram of body weight than generally recommended. Similarly, patients with medium to severe renal function may not be able to eliminate the drug as quickly as patients with healthy kidneys. The initial dose of digitalis in these patients should not exceed 50% of the standard dose. Any dose increase should only be performed under close medical supervision.