Digitalis toxicity: ECG vignette

Digitalis toxicity.

Digitalis toxicity is a frequently encountered clinical problem. Drug interactions leading to digitalis toxicity are very common. Within this group, the interaction of digitalis and verapamil is increasingly recognized as an important cause of digitalis toxicity. The use of digoxin-binding antibodies represents a significant advance in the treatment of this problem and can be lifesaving in the ...

Electrocardiographic manifestations: digitalis toxicity.

Toxicity from the digitalis family of cardiac glycoside medications remains common. Successful treatment depends on early recognition; however, the diagnosis of potentially life-threatening toxicity remains difficult because the clinical presentation is often nonspecific and subtle. The hallmark of cardiac toxicity is increased automaticity coupled with concomitant conduction delay. Though no s...

Cellular electrophysiology of digitalis toxicity.

The toxic effects of digitalis are attributable in part to poisoning of the enzyme Na+-K+ ATPase and in part to the interactions of digitalis with the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Additional modifiers of the toxic effects of digitalis include the concentrations of ions such as K+ and Ca2+, the age of the subject and the extent and type of cardiac disease. At the cellular ele...

Total blindness due to digitalis toxicity.

ECG diagnosis: flecainide toxicity.

Joel T Levis, MD, PhD, FACEP, FAAEM, is a Senior Emergency Physician at the Santa Clara Medical Center, and Clinical Instructor of Emergency Medicine (Surgery) at Stanford University. He is the Medical Director for the Foothill College Paramedic Program in Los Altos, CA. E-mail: [email protected]. Figure 1. 12-lead Electrocardiogram from a 46-year-old woman with fl ecainide toxicity. Demonstrat...