From:
pjdutche@email.unc.edu
Date: 2003-07-27 16:07:02 UTC
Subject: RE: what is the therapeutic digoxin range?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <277396.1059322022990.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
>What is the therapeuitic digoxin level range for ferrets? My >vet does not seem to think that it is necessary to check my >ferrets digoxin levels.
(haven't seen an on-list reply yet, so here's a little info)
The therapeutic digoxin level is generally given as around 0.9-2.0 ng/ml; I think it's pretty much the same in ferrets as it is with other animals, although it may go a bit higher in dogs as compared to cats. However, this was established more as a way to avoid toxicity, and the range changes slightly depending on which research you read. Some animals (dobermans come to mind) will show toxic effects even within this range, so it bears close watching. With my girl Sunny, we saw good benefits when her blood levels were 0.7 ng/ml. We did increase her dose a bit to get it up into the range, if memory serves. The level is best tested about 8 hours after the medication is given.
I do recall that we had to increase Sunny's dose a few times in order to get it up into that range. I was giving it with food, which probably explains why her dose needed to be higher than we initially thought. It's important to be consistent with digoxin, in terms of always giving it with food or always giving it without food, as that effects the absorption and subsequent blood levels of the drug. Anyway, I always liked having the blood levels tested, just to see what we needed to do with her dose.
To avoid confusion, I should probably add that the therapeutic digoxin level refers to the amount of the drug in the blood. The dose given is a different matter. Karen Purcell's book and also _Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery_ both give the following dose and suggest monitoring with the blood levels if possible:
0.005-0.01 mg/kg q 12-24 hours
Hope that helps a bit (and this is just a layman's take on digoxin),
-Pam S.