Tissue and erythrocyte distribution of digoxin in infants.
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.
D004077:Digoxin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000188:drug therapy; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D007700:Kinetics; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism
D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D004077:Digoxin