In a cohort of 80 elderly patients on maintenance digoxin, the drug was successfully withdrawn without detriment in 59 patients (74%), indicating that maintenance therapy is often unnecessary.
Observational (n=80)
Does withdrawal of maintenance digoxin prevent toxicity without causing cardiac decompensation in elderly patients?
In elderly patients on maintenance digoxin without a known primary cardiac lesion, the drug can often be successfully withdrawn without recurrence of heart failure.
Digitalis glycosides remain the cornerstone of treatment in cardiac failure. The increasing frequency of toxic effects is a cause for concern. Review of 80 elderly patients receiving digoxin on a maintenance basis, some of whom had toxic effects, shows that in almost three-quarters of the group digoxin was stopped without detriment. Elderly patients on maintenance treatment should be reviewed, and in the absence of a known primary cardiac lesion an attempt should be made to withdraw digoxin.
J. L. C. Dall (1970) conducted an observational in Elderly patients on maintenance digoxin (n=80). Withdrawal of digoxin was evaluated on Successful withdrawal of digoxin without recurrence of cardiac decompensation. In a cohort of 80 elderly patients on maintenance digoxin, the drug was successfully withdrawn without detriment in 59 patients (74%), indicating that maintenance therapy is often unnecessary.