title: Are plasma drug levels clinically relevant?
abstract: Pharmacokinetics can be a useful aid to therapy only if its limitations are clearly recognized. Therapeutic monitoring is indicated only when there is a correlation between the kinetic behaviour of a drug (mainly blood concentrations) and therapeutic outcome. The argument for correlating therapeutic effects with plasma levels would be more convincing if it could be demonstrated in variable diseases, e.g. mental disease. Measurement of concentrations in the treatment of acute poisoning is invaluable only in cases of overdosage with salicylate or paracetamol.
mesh_terms: D004358:Drug Therapy; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations