title: Comparison of AccuLevel and TDx: evaluation of on-site monitoring of antiepileptic drugs.
abstract: Therapeutic drug monitoring, an important aid in antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy, has a lag time before results are obtained from clinical laboratories. The AccuLevel test is an enzyme immunochromatographic method for quantitative measurement of AEDs including phenobarbital (PB), phenytoin (PHT), and carbamazepine (CBZ), with results available within 20 min. A comparison between AccuLevel and TDx, (fluorescence polarization immunoassay) was conducted in 233 paired blood samples from patients with AED therapy, including 12 Eskimo children receiving treatment in Greenland. Forty-five blood samples were analyzed for PB, 80 for PHT, and 108 for CBZ. Linear regression analysis showed good agreement between the two methods (r = 0.951, 0.958, and 0.945, respectively). The test is easy to perform, but care must be taken to follow the correct procedure, or inaccuracies will result. That happened in some of our results. A reduction in lag time, using on-site drug monitoring, was demonstrated. The AccuLevel is a rapid, accurate, and convenient method for use in AED monitoring.
authors.affiliation: University Clinic of Neurology, Hvidovre Hospital, Denmark.
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gram
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dam
mesh_terms: D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000097:blood*; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002220:Carbamazepine / Q000097:blood; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods; D010634:Phenobarbital / Q000097:blood; D010672:Phenytoin / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D002220:Carbamazepine; D010672:Phenytoin; D010634:Phenobarbital