Is it true that digoxin/digitoxin produces a characteristic ECG rythum?

Answer 1

Hello

On presentation at hospital, patients who have taken digoxin or similar digitalis alkaloids do have a characteristic ECG rhythm.

Many people who try to fake cardiac events for insurance fraud, Munchhausen's etc are discovered by the characteristic 'digitoxin trace'.

Normally, cardiac patients only present with one or two cardiac abnormalities on ECG eexamination, but in patients with digitalis intoxication the features are multiple.

Tell-tale signs include Supreventricular dysrythmia, Aortic valve nodule blockade, ST Depression, and a coarse atrial fibrillation.

Treatment is with Digitoxin specific binding antibodies and refferal.

To the inexperienced Doctor these ECG's can cause utter confusion!!!!

Answer 2

Digoxin can produce characteristic changes in the ECG. These changes, however, are not changes in rhythm per se but rather changes in some of the waves in the ECG.

Most people on digoxin, however, do not show these changes in their ECG; only a few people do.

Answer 3

Digitoxin exhibits similar toxic effects to the more-commonly used digoxin, namely: anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, confusion, visual disturbances, and cardiac arrhythmias. Anti-digoxin antibody fragments, the specific treatment for digoxin poisoning, are also effective in serious digitoxin toxicity

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitoxin