What is therapeutic drug monitoring?

What is it about?

TDM is most commonly used for drugs with narrow therapeutic indices (NTIs), which means that there is a small margin between the therapeutic and toxic concentrations of the drug. Drugs with NTIs are more likely to cause toxicity if the blood level is too high, or ineffectiveness if the blood level is too low. Other factors that may make a drug a candidate for TDM include: Marked pharmacokinetic variability: Difficulty monitoring therapeutic effect: High risk of toxicity: When interpreting the results of drug analysis, it is important to consider the following factors: The therapeutic range: The pharmacokinetics of the drug: . The patient's clinical condition: How to optimize the service to become cost-effective There are a number of ways to optimize TDM services to become more cost-effective. These include: Using appropriate sampling intervals: Using appropriate analytical methods: The rationale for requesting a drug level should be clearly documented in the patient's medical record.

Featured Image