Serum digoxin in patients with thyroid disease.

Serum digoxin concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay in 17 hyperthyroid and 16 hypothyroid patients after a seven-day course of oral digoxin. The significantly higher levels of serum digoxin in patients with hypothyroidism and lower levels in those with hyperthyroidism were closely related to the measured changes of glomerular filtration rate and digoxin serum half time in these two groups. Differences in serum digoxin concentration contribute to the altered sensitivity to digoxin shown by patients with thyroid disease.