The Use of Digitalis in Infants and Children

Abstract

OVER one hundred and sixty years ago, Withering¹ first described the usefulness of digitalis in the treatment of certain types of "dropsy." About fifteen years later, Ferriar² first attributed the efficacy of digitalis to its effect on the heart.Early in the twentieth century, the principal use of digitalis was found to be in the treatment of auricular fibrillation (Cushny³ and Lewis.)⁴ Within the past twenty-five years, however, digitalis has become the drug of choice in the treatment of congestive heart failure of adults with or without auricular fibrillation (Christian,⁵ Luten,⁶ Wenckebach⁷ and Levine⁸). Digitalizing dosages have been successfully . . .