Drug monitoring

One of the modern trends in the field of clinical biochemistry is drug monitoring. Monitoring or monitoring of drugs throughout the treatment period is a complex analytical problem.

Objectives of drug monitoring

determination of the correct mode and dosage of medications individually for each patient;
determining the most effective concentration of drugs to achieve successful treatment;
prevention of the development of toxic effects;
control of the occurring changes in each treatment period with the possibility to change the dosage of drugs depending on the condition of the patients;
study of the interdependencies of various factors in the treatment prescribed.

Clinical indications for drug monitoring

Risk of overdose of the medicine used.
Lack of expected effect from the applied dose of the drug.
The need to determine the therapeutic dose of a drug and it is not possible to evaluate its effectiveness in a simpler way.
Similarity of symptoms of a patient's illness with symptoms of a toxic effect of a drug.
The risk of interaction between medications used to treat a patient with each other.
Cases where the patient's disease (disease) can alter the absorption of the drug, the binding capacity of blood proteins, the release of the drug from the body, the formation of its active metabolites.
Development of the opposite of the expected clinical effect with the use of drugs.

Vitamin D3, B12, E deficiency testing for adults and children

Vitamins are a series of vital substances, without which normal functioning of all cellular structures is impossible. Vitamin deficiency has a negative effect on general human health indicators and on the functions of individual organs.

Cyclosporine in the blood

Cyclosporine is widely used as an effective immunosuppressant to suppress the graft-versus-host reaction after bone marrow, kidney, liver, and heart transplants and in the treatment of certain autoimmune diseases.

Lithium in serum

Lithium ions are absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. It is excreted in urine (95%), feces (1%) and sweat (5%). The concentration of lithium in saliva is significantly higher than its concentration in blood serum. The blood-brain barrier is permeable to lithium, and its concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid is 40% of that in the blood serum.

Theophylline in serum

Theophylline inhibits phosphodiesterase, increases the level of cAMP in cells, is an antagonist of adenosine receptors in the lungs, causing the bronchi to dilate. Of the xanthine group, theophylline is the most effective bronchodilator.

Phenobarbital in the serum

Phenobarbital is primarily used as an anticonvulsant. It is taken orally, the drug is almost completely (up to 80%) absorbed in the small intestine. The maximum concentration of the drug is achieved 2-8 hours after a single oral dose, 1.5-2 hours after intramuscular administration.

Digitoxin in the serum

Digitoxin is a cardiac glycoside that differs from digoxin in its duration of action, which is associated with better solubility in lipids. Digitoxin is almost completely absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. In the blood serum, digitoxin binds to albumin.

Digoxin in the serum

Digoxin is one of the most commonly used cardiac glycosides. It is usually taken for a month. Absorption in the gastrointestinal tract is 60-80% of the dose taken. Most of the drug is excreted from the blood by the kidneys. Digoxin is prescribed mainly for heart failure and as an antiarrhythmic agent, along with other drugs.