{"title":"Clinical impact of therapeutic drug monitoring for newer anti-seizure medications in patients with epilepsy: A real-world observation study","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.bj.2023.100680","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>The clinical value of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for newer anti-seizure medications (ASMs) remains uncertain. This study aimed to assess the impact of newer ASM TDM on clinical decision making in patients with epilepsy.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>We retrospectively identified all plasma requests for newer ASM level measurement as part of routine clinical management in the outpatient departments of seven medical institutes across Taiwan between September 2016 and May 2019. Data collected from reviewed medical records included clinical and medication details, indications for TDM requests, test results, interpretation, and impact on patient management.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>A total of 682 visits with 1051 plasma samples were included. The most frequently analyzed ASMs were levetiracetam (36.1%), oxcarbazepine (18.4%), and lamotrigine (12.0%). Reasons for TDM included poorly controlled seizures (55.3%), concerns about drug-drug interactions (12.3%), and suspicion of drug overdose (10.6%). 68.8% of samples were within the orienting therapeutic range, even for patients with poorly controlled seizures. TDM for non-adherence concerns showed 54.3% below the orienting therapeutic range, while ASM-related adverse events assessment only 8.9% showed levels exceeding the orienting therapeutic range. Following TDM results, 64.2% of cases had medication adjustments, mainly dosage increases. Overall, 55.9% of newer ASM TDM visits showed improved outcomes, including reduced seizures (47.5%) and fewer ASM-related side effects (8.4%).</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>These findings suggest that appropriate utilization of TDM for newer ASMs provides clinical benefits in adjunct to complement clinical decision making in the management of epilepsy patients in a real-world clinical setting.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8934,"journal":{"name":"Biomedical Journal","volume":"47 5","pages":"Article 100680"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2319417023001178/pdfft?md5=f585d727a2e97445d6c15fef34425181&pid=1-s2.0-S2319417023001178-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Biomedical Journal","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2319417023001178","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
The clinical value of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for newer anti-seizure medications (ASMs) remains uncertain. This study aimed to assess the impact of newer ASM TDM on clinical decision making in patients with epilepsy.
Methods
We retrospectively identified all plasma requests for newer ASM level measurement as part of routine clinical management in the outpatient departments of seven medical institutes across Taiwan between September 2016 and May 2019. Data collected from reviewed medical records included clinical and medication details, indications for TDM requests, test results, interpretation, and impact on patient management.
Results
A total of 682 visits with 1051 plasma samples were included. The most frequently analyzed ASMs were levetiracetam (36.1%), oxcarbazepine (18.4%), and lamotrigine (12.0%). Reasons for TDM included poorly controlled seizures (55.3%), concerns about drug-drug interactions (12.3%), and suspicion of drug overdose (10.6%). 68.8% of samples were within the orienting therapeutic range, even for patients with poorly controlled seizures. TDM for non-adherence concerns showed 54.3% below the orienting therapeutic range, while ASM-related adverse events assessment only 8.9% showed levels exceeding the orienting therapeutic range. Following TDM results, 64.2% of cases had medication adjustments, mainly dosage increases. Overall, 55.9% of newer ASM TDM visits showed improved outcomes, including reduced seizures (47.5%) and fewer ASM-related side effects (8.4%).
Conclusions
These findings suggest that appropriate utilization of TDM for newer ASMs provides clinical benefits in adjunct to complement clinical decision making in the management of epilepsy patients in a real-world clinical setting.
期刊介绍:
Biomedical Journal publishes 6 peer-reviewed issues per year in all fields of clinical and biomedical sciences for an internationally diverse authorship. Unlike most open access journals, which are free to readers but not authors, Biomedical Journal does not charge for subscription, submission, processing or publication of manuscripts, nor for color reproduction of photographs.
Clinical studies, accounts of clinical trials, biomarker studies, and characterization of human pathogens are within the scope of the journal, as well as basic studies in model species such as Escherichia coli, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, and Mus musculus revealing the function of molecules, cells, and tissues relevant for human health. However, articles on other species can be published if they contribute to our understanding of basic mechanisms of biology.
A highly-cited international editorial board assures timely publication of manuscripts. Reviews on recent progress in biomedical sciences are commissioned by the editors.