COMPARISON OF THE TOLERANCE OF ADULTS AND CHILDREN TO DIGITOXIN

Abstract

The utility of digitalis therapy in children is a subject of much controversy. That this group of drugs is not as effective in children as it is in adults is generally accepted, but there is the belief, fairly widely held among those familiar with the problems of heart disease in children, that digitalis therapy may be injurious to children with heart disease and failure. Sutton and Wyckoff¹ studied the effect of digitalis in heart failure among a group of children and concluded that the drug is useful, and in dosages,approximately similar to those for adults. Jacobsen and Davison² found digitalis effective in children with active carditis and failure, but in larger doses than those required by adults on the basis of body weight. Jezer and Schwartz³ gave very large doses of digitalis to a group of children in congestive failure; from this experience they concluded that the