Treatment by intermittent oral administration of digoxin in elderly with chronic congestive heart failure

Objectives To compare effect of digoxin 0.125 mg and 0.25 mg orally every other day on the cardiac function in old patients with chronic congestive heart failure(CHF). Methods Eighty-six old patients with chronic congestive heart failure were randomly divided into two groups. Convention therapy such as enalapril 10 mg b.i.d, hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg b.i.d, when using diuretics, oral potassium chloride slow release piece 1.0 g q.d. was taken. GroupⅠ(n=43) received digoxin 0.125 mg orally q.o.d. GroupⅡ(n=43) received digoxin 0.25 mg orally q.o.d. Regular subsequent follow-up at each month continued for six months. Cardiac function was assessed by UCG, serum digoxin concentration (SDC) by ELISA and electrocardiogram were determined. Results The serum digoxin concentration in the groupⅡwas higher than in the groupⅠ[(1.45±0.52) μg/L vs (0.97±0.31) μg/L, P0.01]; The LVEF was no significant difference betweem the two groups in the improvement of cardiac function (LVEF 0.47±0.05 vs 0.46±0.05 P0.05). Conclusions Both digoxin 0.125 mg and 0.25 mg orally q.o.d. for treatment of congestive heart failure are quite curative, but the former may be safe.