Pharmacokinetics of digoxin in sheep: limitations of the use of biological half-life for interspecies extrapolation.

After of single IV digoxin injection of 50 micrograms/kg of body weight, the serum digoxin concentrations of 4 sheep were fitted to a 2-compartment open model. The mean value for the elimination half-life was 7.15 hours; for area volume of distribution, 13.8 L/kg; and for total body clearance, 1.36 L/kg/hr. A comparison of this study with previous studies in sheep and cattle revealed that serious misconceptions could arise if one chose to rely upon elimination half-life as the sole descriptor of drug disposition. A more informative characterization was determined to be total body clearance and area volume of distribution.