Background: Optimal use of digoxin in the elderly population requires information about the drug's pharmacokinetics and the influence of various factors on the drug's disposition. However, because of sampling restrictions, it is often difficult to perform traditional pharmacokinetic studies in elderly patients.
Objective: This study was conducted to determine the apparent total clearance of digoxin from serum after oral administration (CL/F) and to establish the role of patient characteristics in estimating doses of digoxin for elderly patients (age ≥65 years), using routine therapeutic drug monitoring data.
To establish the role of patient characteristics in estimating doses of digoxin for infants and young children using routine therapeutic drug monitoring data, the steady-state blood-level data (n = 245) after repetitive oral administration in 117 hospitalized infants and young children were analyzed using nonlinear mixed effects modeling (NONMEM), a computer program designed for analyzing drug pharmacokinetics in study populations through pooling of data. Analysis of the pharmacokinetics of digoxin was accomplished using a 1-compartment pharmacokinetic model. Estimates generated by NONMEM indicated that the clearance of digoxin (CL/F; L/h) was influenced by the following demographic variables: total body weight (TBW), presence of congestive heart failure (CHF), and infant-young children clearance factor (trough serum concentration of digoxin; Conc).
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