Klin Farmakol Farm. 2009;23(4):162-165

Neuropsychiatric manifestations in digoxin intoxication

Štefan Alušík, Zoltán Paluch, Magdalena Lejsková, Věra Jedličková, Tomáš Adámek

¹ . interní klinika Fakultní Thomayerovy nemocnice a Institutu postgraduálního vzdělávání ve zdravotnictví, Praha

Aim of study: The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of neuropsychiatric changes in a group of patients hospitalized with

pathological plasma digoxin levels and to correlate these changes with other manifestations of digitalis intoxication.

Method: We analyzed clinical and laboratory data including drug therapy data obtained from the medical records of patients hospitalized

over the last 36 months.

Results: Plasma digoxin levels above 2 ng/ml were seen in 171 patients, clinical manifestations of intoxication were demonstrated in

106 patients, and present in all patients with plasma levels above 3 ng/ml. Neuropsychiatric manifestations were noted in 15 % of all

patients.

Conclusions: Neuropsychiatric manifestations are not specific, and they may be difficult to diagnose, especially in elderly patients. Their

lower incidence in our group of patients is due to the retrospective nature of our analysis. Risk factors of intoxication included very old

age and renal dysfunction. Because of the concomitant use of drugs, drug interactions may have played a significant role in the elevated

digoxin levels.

Keywords: digoxin, intoxication, neuropsychiatric manifestations

Published: May 1, 2010  Show citation