Digoxin Dosing in Heart Failure: A Simplified Nomogram Versus Standard Care
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2009-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Dosing methods for digoxin, a drug used to treat heart failure, have not been updated in
decades despite evidence in recent years suggesting that blood levels of digoxin achieved
with traditional dosing practices may increase the risk of adverse events. We developed a
simple dosing tool that targets lower blood levels of digoxin that have been associated with
improved outcomes compared to higher blood levels. The aim of this study is to determine if
this simplified dosing tool is more effective than standard digoxin dosing practices at
achieving lower blood levels and also to determine if digoxin dosing may be further optimized
by incorporating patients' genetic information believed to influence the drug's properties.