[Treatment of the experimental chronic digitalisintoxication by hemoperfusion (author's transl)]

In 5 adult dogs experimental chronic digitalis intoxication was produced by oral administration of different digitalis-types (digoxin, beta-methyl-, beta-acetyl-digoxin, digitoxin). 18 to 24 hours after the last application of digitalis, charcoal hemoperfusion was performed in Dipidolor-N2O-anesthesia and serum digitalis-concentrations in the arterial and venous lines of the hemoperfusion system were determined by RIA J125. The Ecg was registered continuously as a simple clinical parameter of cardiac digitalis intoxication. Initial multiple cardiac arrhythmias (AVII degree, SAII degree, tachycardia of the atrium) subsided in the dogs with digoxin, beta-methyl- and beta-acetyl-digoxin during hemocolperfusion within 130 to 160 min. The disturbances of rhythm persisted up to 200 min after onset of hemoperfusion in the dog intoxicated by digitoxin. The clearances of digoxin and derivatives (35.8--43.1 ml/min) are higher than the digitoxin clearance (17--23.2 ml/min) which is supposed to be the reason for cardiac detoxication in the digoxin-intoxicated dogs. Hemoperfusion using polymer coated charcoal appears to be effective for the elimination of digoxin leading to a marked improvement of cardiac arrhythmias. By contrast digitoxin induced cardiac arrhythmias are not influenced during hemoperfusion.