Skeletal muscle binding and renal excretion of digoxin in man

Ten healthy subjects were treated with three or four different doses of digoxin, 0.25 to 0.88 mg daily, in random order. Digoxin concentrations in serum (SDC) and skeletal muscle (SMDC) were determined as well as its renal clearance after 2 weeks of treatment with each dose. The mean ratio SMDC/SDC decreased non-significantly by about 20% from 33 +/- 15 at the lowest SDC interval (0.5-0.9 nmol/l) to 28 +/- 7 at the highest concentration interval (2.0-2.4 nmol/l). This is in accordance with findings from previous studies. No significant change was observed in the renal clearance of digoxin with increasing digoxin concentration, supporting the concept of first-order renal elimination of digoxin.