Digoxin was first introduced as a drug in the treatment of atrial fibrillation in the early twentieth century. Only subsequently was the value of digitalis for the treatment of congestive heart failure established. The syndrome of digoxin toxicity was originally described in 1785 by Withering.
The therapeutic properties of cardiac glycosides such as digoxin, a product of the foxglove plant, have been known since the days of the ancient Romans who used red squill, derived from the sea onion, as a diuretic in heart medicine. Cardiac glycosides are found in certain flowering plants such as oleander and lily-of-the-valley and are components of some herbal dietary supplements. Digitalis toxicity was also well known in previous centuries, and some have suggested that the toxic visual symptoms of digitalis may have played a role in Van Gogh’s use of swirling greens and yellows.
The public health burden of digoxin toxicity declined dramatically from 1991 to 2004 in the United Kingdom and the...
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Gebran, N. (2012). Digoxin. In: Elzouki, A.Y., Harfi, H.A., Nazer, H.M., Stapleton, F.B., Oh, W., Whitley, R.J. (eds) Textbook of Clinical Pediatrics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02202-9_275
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