Digoxin Therapy During T-Tube Biliary Drainage in Man
- S. George Carruthers, MD;
- Carlos A. Dujovne, MD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
BILIARY excretion and enterohepatic recirculation of digitoxin has been demonstrated in man.1 Recently it has been recognized that digoxin may also undergo biliary elimination and enterohepatic recycling.2,3 We report the consequence of biliary excretion of digoxin in a patient subjected to bile drainage after cholecystectomy.
Report of a Case An 82-year-old man weighing 59 kg was taking digoxin, 0.125 mg/day; 1-thyroxine, 0.2 mg/day; and furosemide, 40 mg/day. He was jaundiced and dyspneic. Moist rales at both lung bases and gallop rhythm were present. The right upper quadrant was tender to deep palpation. Sonography demonstrated a distended gallbladder with numerous small calculi. Blood cell counts showed leukocytosis with an increased number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. There was a threefold elevation of the normal serum bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase levels; BUN levels ranged from 29 to 48 mg/dl, and serum creatinine levels ranged from 1.3 to 2.0 mg/dl. Creatinine clearance calculated
Footnotes
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Reprint requests to University of Kansas Medical Center, Rainbow Blvd at 39th St, Kansas City, KS 66103 (Dr Dujovne).
