Metabolism and rate of elimination of digoxigenin bisdigitoxoside in dogs before and during chronic azotemia.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the metabolism and rate of elimination of digoxigenin bisdigitoxoside (bis) before and during chronic azotemia in dogs. Bis was eliminated primarily by nonrenal mechanisms. The half-life of bis was 18.5 hr, compared to 31.6 hr for digoxin, and was not significantly increased in azotemic dogs. The oral bioavailability of bis in azotemic dogs relative to an intravenous dose was approximately 46%.