title: Clinical implications of determination of plasma haloperidol levels.
abstract: The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical utility of monitoring plasma levels, since the utility of monitoring is not yet well established. After a washout period, 30 schizophrenic patients were given fixed doses of haloperidol for 3 weeks. A U-shaped second-grade polynomic relationship (R = 0.69) was found between steady state of haloperidol and percentage improvement in total score on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. The interval of effective concentrations was between 12 and 59 ng/ml. Fourteen of the 15 patients who had a steady state of haloperidol within that therapeutic interval were responders: only 5 out of the 15 patients below the therapeutic interval were responders. None of the 5 patients who had concentrations below 8 ng/ml was a responder. Furthermore, responder patients showed a steady-state level of haloperidol significantly higher than that of nonresponders. These data suggest that plasma levels of haloperidol are predictors of therapeutic response in schizophrenic disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitario de San Carlos, Spain.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cabranes
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Almoguera
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vazquez
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Angeles
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
chemical_list: D006220:Haloperidol