A 75-year-old woman with cardiac arrhythmia on digoxin. Which medicine should be avoided to prevent adverse interactions?

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Multiple Choice

A 75-year-old woman with cardiac arrhythmia on digoxin. Which medicine should be avoided to prevent adverse interactions?

Explanation:
Digoxin has a very narrow therapeutic window, so drugs that alter its levels or increase its cardiac effects are especially concerning. Theophylline can markedly raise digoxin exposure by reducing its clearance and/or increasing its tissue effects, which heightens the risk of digoxin toxicity. Toxicity can include nausea, vomiting, confusion, visual disturbances, and dangerous arrhythmias—dangerous in an elderly patient already on digoxin. Because of this strong interaction, theophylline should be avoided in someone taking digoxin. The other options may have their own considerations, but they do not carry as clear a risk of significantly elevating digoxin levels.

Digoxin has a very narrow therapeutic window, so drugs that alter its levels or increase its cardiac effects are especially concerning. Theophylline can markedly raise digoxin exposure by reducing its clearance and/or increasing its tissue effects, which heightens the risk of digoxin toxicity. Toxicity can include nausea, vomiting, confusion, visual disturbances, and dangerous arrhythmias—dangerous in an elderly patient already on digoxin. Because of this strong interaction, theophylline should be avoided in someone taking digoxin. The other options may have their own considerations, but they do not carry as clear a risk of significantly elevating digoxin levels.

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