title: Therapeutic drug monitoring of sertraline: variability factors as displayed in a clinical setting.
abstract: This report describes sertraline pharmacokinetics derived from routine therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) data. A high-performance liquid chromatographic method with ultraviolet detection was established for routine sertraline TDM, and 924 analyses were performed from April 1995 to May 1997. Extensive predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied to increase the validity of scientifically evaluated data. Subsequently, 605 samples (65.5%) were excluded. The remaining 319 samples from 319 patients, representative of steady state trough specimens and accompanied by essential clinical information provided on request forms, were scrutinized. A pronounced interindividual variability was observed. Smokers had significantly lower concentration-to-dose (C/D) mean ratios of serum sertraline (s-sert) and its main metabolite desmethylsertraline (s-dsert) than nonsmokers. Higher s-sert and s-dsert C/D mean ratios were found in elderly patients than in adults aged less than 65 years. In a subset of 20 patients in whom repeated TDM analyses were performed, observed intraindividual sertraline TDM outcome variability was low. The results highlight sertraline TDM as a tool for individual dose optimization and evaluation of patient drug compliance as well as drug-drug interactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Locomotion, Linköping University Hospital, Sweden.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lundmark
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bengtsson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D016903:Drug Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000097:blood*; D020280:Sertraline / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D020280:Sertraline