Digitek Dosage

Generic name: DIGOXIN 0.125mg
Dosage form: tablet
Drug classes: Group V antiarrhythmics, Inotropic agents

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Feb 5, 2024.

Important Dosing and Administration Information

In selecting a digoxin dosing regimen, it is important to consider factors that affect digoxin blood levels (e.g., body weight, age, renal function, concomitant drugs) since toxic levels of digoxin are only slightly higher than therapeutic levels. Dosing can be either initiated with a loading dose followed by maintenance dosing if rapid titration is desired or initiated with maintenance dosing without a loading dose.

Consider interruption or reduction in digoxin dose prior to electrical cardioversion [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4)].

Use digoxin solution to obtain the appropriate dose in infants, young pediatric patients, or patients with very low body weight.

Loading Dosing Regimen in Adults and Pediatric Patients

For adults and pediatric patients if a loading dosage is to be given, administer half the total loading dose initially, then ¼ the loading dose every 6-8 hours twice, with careful assessment of clinical response and toxicity before each dose. The recommended loading dose is displayed in Table 1.

Table 1. Recommended DIGITEK® (digoxin tablets) Oral Loading Dose
mcg = microgram
Age	Total Oral Loading Dose (mcg/kg) Administer half the total loading dose initially, then ¼ the loading dose every 6 to 8 hours twice
5 to 10 years	20-45
Adults and pediatric patients over 10 years	10-15

Maintenance Dosing in Adults and Pediatric Patients Over 10 Years Old

The maintenance dose is based on lean body weight, renal function, age, and concomitant products [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3)].

The recommended starting maintenance dose in adults and pediatric patients over 10 years old with normal renal function is given in Table 2. Doses may be increased every 2 weeks according to clinical response, serum drug levels, and toxicity.

Table 2. Recommended Starting DIGITEK® (digoxin tablets) Maintenance Dosage in Adults and Pediatric Patients Over 10 Years Old
mcg = microgram
Age	Total Oral Maintenance Dose, mcg/kg/day (given once daily)
Adults and pediatric patients over 10 years	3.4-5.1

Table 3 provides the recommended (once daily) maintenance dose for adults and pediatric patients over 10 years old (to be given once daily) according to lean body weight and renal function. The doses are based on studies in adult patients with heart failure. Alternatively, the maintenance dose may be estimated by the following formula (peak body stores lost each day through elimination):

: Total Maintenance Dose = Loading Dose (i.e., Peak Body Stores) x % Daily Loss/100 (% Daily Loss = 14 + Creatinine clearance/5)

Reduce the dose of DIGITEK® (digoxin tablets) in patients whose lean weight is an abnormally small fraction of their total body mass because of obesity or edema.

Table 3. Recommended Maintenance Dose (in micrograms given once daily) of DIGITEK® (digoxin tablets) in Pediatric Patients Over 10 Years Old and Adults by Lean Body Weight and by Renal Function*
* Doses are rounded to the nearest dose possible using whole digoxin tablets. Recommended doses approximately 30 percent lower than the calculated dose are designated with an *. Monitor digoxin levels in patients receiving these initial doses and increase dose if needed. † For adults, creatinine clearance was corrected to 70-kg body weight or 1.73 m2 body surface area. If only serum creatinine concentrations (Scr) are available, a corrected Ccr may be estimated in men as (140 – Age)/Scr. For women, this result should be multiplied by 0.85. For pediatric patients, the modified Schwartz equation may be used. The formula is based on height in cm and Scr in mg/dL where k is a constant. Ccr is corrected to 1.73 m2 body surface area. During the first year of life, the value of k is 0.33 for pre-term babies and 0.45 for term infants. The k is 0.55 for pediatric patients and adolescent girls and 0.7 for adolescent boys.GFR (mL/min/1.73 m2) = (k x Height)/Scr ‡ The doses listed assume average body composition. § If no loading dose administered.
Corrected Creatinine Clearance†	Lean Body Weight‡								Number of Days Before Steady State Achieved§
Corrected Creatinine Clearance†	kg	40	50	60	70	80	90	100	Number of Days Before Steady State Achieved§
10 mL/min		62.5*	125	125	187.5	187.5	187.5	250	19
20 mL/min		125	125	125	187.5	187.5	250	250	16
30 mL/min		125	125	187.5	187.5	250	250	312.5	14
40 mL/min		125	187.5	187.5	250	250	312.5	312.5	13
50 mL/min		125	187.5	187.5	250	250	312.5	312.5	12
60 mL/min		125	187.5	250	250	312.5	312.5	375	11
70 mL/min		187.5	187.5	250	250	312.5	375	375	10
80 mL/min		187.5	187.5	250	312.5	312.5	375	437.5	9
90 mL/min		187.5	250	250	312.5	375	437.5	437.5	8
100 mL/min		187.5	250	312.5	312.5	375	437.5	500	7

Maintenance Dosing in Pediatric Patients Less Than 10 Years Old

The starting maintenance dose for heart failure in pediatric patients less than 10 years old is based on lean body weight, renal function, age, and concomitant products [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3)]. The recommended starting maintenance dose for pediatric patients between 5 years and 10 years old is given in Table 4. These recommendations assume the presence of normal renal function.

Table 4. Recommended Starting DIGITEK® (digoxin tablets) Oral Maintenance Dosage in Pediatric Patients between 5 and 10 Years Old
Age	Oral Maintenance Dose, mcg/kg/dose
5 years to 10 years	3.2-6.4 Twice daily

Table 5 provides average daily maintenance dose requirements for pediatric patients between 5 and 10 years old (to be given twice daily) with heart failure based on age, lean body weight, and renal function.

Table 5. Recommended Maintenance Dose (in micrograms given TWICE daily) of DIGITEK® (digoxin tablets) in Pediatric Patients between 5 and 10 Years of Age* Based upon Lean Body Weight and Renal Function*, †
* Recommended are doses to be given twice daily. † The doses are rounded to the nearest dose possible using whole digoxin tablets. Recommended doses approximately 30 percent lower than the calculated dose are designated with an *. Monitor digoxin levels in patients receiving these initial doses and increase dose if needed. ‡ The modified Schwartz equation may be used to estimate creatinine clearance. See footnote b under Table 3. § If no loading dose administered.
Corrected Creatinine Clearance‡	Lean Body Weight								Number of Days Before Steady State Achieved§
Corrected Creatinine Clearance‡		kg		20	30	40	50	60	Number of Days Before Steady State Achieved§
10 mL/min		-	62.5	62.5*	125	125			19
20 mL/min		62.5	62.5	125	125	125			16
30 mL/min		62.5	62.5*	125	125	187.5			14
40 mL/min		62.5	62.5*	125	187.5	187.5			13
50 mL/min		62.5	125	125	187.5	187.5			12
60 mL/min		62.5	125	125	187.5	250			11
70 mL/min		62.5	125	187.5	187.5	250			10
80 mL/min		62.5*	125	187.5	187.5	250			9
90 mL/min		62.5*	125	187.5	250	250			8
100 mL/min		62.5*	125	187.5	250	312.5			7

Monitoring to Assess Safety, Efficacy, and Therapeutic Blood Levels

Monitor for signs and symptoms of digoxin toxicity and clinical response. Adjust dose based on toxicity, efficacy, and blood levels.

Serum digoxin levels less than 0.5 ng/mL have been associated with diminished efficacy, while levels above 2 ng/mL have been associated with increased toxicity without increased benefit.

Interpret the serum digoxin concentration in the overall clinical context, and do not use an isolated measurement of serum digoxin concentration as the basis for increasing or decreasing the DIGITEK® (digoxin tablets) dose. Serum digoxin concentrations may be falsely elevated by endogenous digoxin-like substances [see Drug Interactions (7.4)]. If the assay is sensitive to these substances, consider obtaining a baseline digoxin level before starting DIGITEK® (digoxin tablets) and correct post-treatment values by the reported baseline level.

Obtain serum digoxin concentrations just before the next scheduled DIGITEK® (digoxin tablets) dose or at least 6 hours after the last dose. The digoxin concentration is likely to be 10-25% lower when sampled right before the next dose (24 hours after dosing) compared to sampling 8 hours after dosing (using once-daily dosing). However, there will be only minor differences in digoxin concentrations using twice daily dosing whether sampling is done at 8 or 12 hours after a dose.

Switching from Intravenous Digoxin to Oral Digoxin

When switching from intravenous to oral digoxin formulations, make allowances for differences in bioavailability when calculating maintenance dosages (see Table 6).