[Radiation exposure of health personnel and patients in the heart catheterization laboratory in during vascular brachytherapy].

Interventional radiological measures can lead to high radiation exposures for medical staff. In order to determine the radiation exposure to staff and patients, the resulting radiation exposures were directly measured for 52 measures at an cardiac catheterization laboratory with a new dosimetry system DIS (Direct Ion Storage). Beside the measurement of body dose behind the lead apron, measurements of radiation doses were performed in front of the lead apron and at the wrist of the physician.

[Digoxin therapy in patients with long-term digitalis therapy. Comparison of the digoxin blood level after oral administration of digoxin and beta-methyldigoxin].

Unlabelled: The serum digoxin levels of 23 patients were measured by radio immune assay. The patients were divided into 2 groups receiving either 0,5 mg digoxin b.i.

[Relationship between digoxin-induced cardiac arrhythmias and serum-digoxin levels (author's transl)].

The serum-digoxin level was measured by radio-immunoassay (Immutope) on 245 patients in a coronary care unit. Cardiac arrhythmias were assumed to be digoxin-induced if they disappeared after the drug had been stopped. Patients who had received digitoxin or spironolactone were excluded.

[Serum glycoside concentration and digoxin intoxication].

Serum digoxin levels, estimated by radioimmuno assay, technique, and the pattern of cardiac arrhythmias due to digoxin intoxication seem to be correlated in cases with high serum digoxin levels. The prognostic value of those correlations is demonstrated and discussed. Serial observations of the course of cardiac arrhythmias under the suspicion of digoxin intoxication together with blood level measurements allow to introduce more objective criteria in clinical management of poor risk patients receiving digoxin.

Complications of permanent transvenous cardiac pacing.

Clinical experience with permanent transvenous pacing during a 6 year period at Hannover Medical School is presented. A total of 1,376 pacemaker operations were performed in 799 patients, with a mortality rate of 1.1 per cent.