Experimental study on acute digitalis poisoning

Abstract

Frequency of intoxication is rapidly increasing, due to the prevailing of clinical use of the drug, for example, acute digitalization which is based upon development of its injection and combined use of thiazide diuretics, etc. On the other hand, mechanism of intoxication is scarcely made clear. Accordingly, in this experiment, the author attempted to examine on some features in the acute digitalis-intoxication, especially regarding the following two points, and intended to clarity mechanism of this intoxication by analyzing the results. 1. Pathological states was examined from the following 4 items on the heart in acute intoxication. (1) Electrocardiography (2) Serum electrolyte (3) Carbohydrate and electrolyte metabolism of the heart muscle (4) Potassium content of the heart muscle 2. The author also experimentally investigated the clinically wellknown fact that the heart muscle metabolically disturbed is apt to get into intoxication, compared with the normal heart muscle. Methods : As a agent, stropepside was used, which is one of monosides having the fundamental form as the action-structure of digitalis effect and shows immedite effect. Male healthy dogs weighing 10kg were used as the experimental animals, and sodium hexabarbiturate as anesthetics. Experiment-1 : Electrocardiography in the acuts strospeside intoxication At constant anesthetic state, normality of ECG was confirmed from the variation statistically treated ECGs of 50 dogs. Strosepside (0.15-0.50mg/kg), dissolved with physiological saline to 10cc in total, was injected intravenously during 2 minutes. For the control animals, 10cc of physiological saline only was injected. ECG was recorded before the injection and 1, 2, 4 minutes after and afterwards at intervals of 2 minutes up to 60 minutes on 9 Leads (I, II, III, aVR, aVL, aVF and V1, V3, V5). Experiment-2 : Serum electrolyte in the acute strospeside intoxication.