Drug Interactions with Digoxin at a Hospital in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia

SUMMARY. Digoxin is commonly used in combination with other medications, yet many of these medications may interact with digoxin. This was a descriptive retrospective study to investigate digoxin drug-drug interactions at a hospital in Riyadh Region. Furosemide (9.38%), aspirin (8.33%), lisinopril (7.29%), and atorvastatin (7.29%) were the most common medications that were prescribed with digoxin. Most of the prescriptions contained at least one drug interaction with digoxin (80.00%). In terms of severity, the majority of digoxin interactions in our study were moderate (64.06%) while major interactions accounted for (35.94% of all prescriptions). All major interactions increase patients’ harm from digoxin and, as a result, increase the risk of digoxin toxicity and adverse events such as increasing the risk of complete heart block. Pharmacists should check digoxin-drug interactions before dispensing any prescription that contains digoxin.