PEDIATRICS Vol. 63 No. 3 March 1979, pp. 503-504
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Digitalis Toxicity and Serum Levels

William Berman Jr. M.D.1

1 8 Brownstone Drive Hershey, PA 17033

The article by Halkin et al (Pediatrics 61: 184, February 1978) alerts pediatricians to the prevalence of toxicity to dligoxin in infants and children. However, I am concerned that casual reading of the article will lead some to conclude that tolerance to digoxin does not vary with age and that a serum level of digoxin of 2 ng/ml is a "magic number." Neither of these conclusions is substantiated by the data in the manuscript.

The findings of the series are clouded somewhat by the broad criteria used for diagnosing toxicity, the time at which serum specimens were obtained (eight hours after the preceding maintenance dose), and the lack of information about drug clearance as it relates to drug dose and the serum levels achieved.