Study Finds Safer Way to Use Heart Drug

University of Chicago pharmacists have found a safer way to determine the right dose of digoxin, a powerful drug for congestive heart failure.

Jerry Bauman, lead investigator of the study and dean of the University of Chicago College of Pharmacy, said that digoxin can be difficult to dose, and the cushion between beneficial and deadly levels of the drug is small.

The therapeutic range for digoxin in heart failure has recently changed to become lower and narrower, and the new range is associated with improved mortality, Bauman said, (so) more intensive dosage refinement should be considered.

The researchers examined the records of adult patients with congestive heart failure treated with digoxin over a six-month period and created a new dosing equation to calculate the right initial dose based on the amount of digoxin given and the patients’ blood-digoxin levels, kidney function and ideal body weight.

They also created a nomogram — or two-dimensional calculation graph — to help physicians quickly find the right dose for their patient.

The new formula appears in the Dec. 11 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.