PKP-006 Pharmacist’s role in clinical pharmacokinetic monitoring of digoxin: minimising toxic effects

BackgroundThe digoxin range conventionally used (0.8–2.0 ng/mL) may be suitable for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), although a lower range is preferable for patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) (0.5–1.0 ng/mL).PurposeTo study if digoxin is monitored correctly and according to recent...

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Published in:European journal of hospital pharmacy. Science and practice 2017-03, Vol.24 (Suppl 1), p.A196-A196
Main Authors: López-Sepúlveda, R, García, E Espínola, Sances, MS Martín, Ordóñez, S Anaya, Lirola, MA García, Barrera, J Cabeza
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Older people
Pharmacokinetics
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Summary:BackgroundThe digoxin range conventionally used (0.8–2.0 ng/mL) may be suitable for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), although a lower range is preferable for patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) (0.5–1.0 ng/mL).PurposeTo study if digoxin is monitored correctly and according to recent evidence.Material and methodsA retrospective study was conducted between January and June 2016. Field of study: two tertiary hospitals and their reference areas (the population consisted of 666 000 people). Adult patients with analytical determinations of digoxin during the study period were included. Digoxin concentrations were studied in blood samples of patients with CHF and/or AF. The percentage of patients with inappropriate levels of digoxin according to recent evidence was detected. Results were statistically interpreted. A descriptive analysis was conducted, followed by a χ2 test to calculate the differences between all variables. The possible influence of age (younger or older than 75 years) and sex were also analysed.ResultsA total of 102 analytical determinations in 95 patients were studied. 50% of the determinations in blood (51) showed inappropriate levels of digoxin. The number of inappropriate levels of digoxin was significantly higher in the group of patients >75 years of age (p=0.0481). However, no significant differences were found according to sex (p=0.903). 21.6% (22) of the analytical determinations showed blood digoxin levels above the range (>2 ng/mL for AF and >1 ng/mL for CHF). 28.4% (29) of patients had blood digoxin levels below the range (
ISSN:2047-9956
2047-9964
DOI:10.1136/ejhpharm-2017-000640.434