title: [Principles of therapeutic drug monitoring].
abstract: Requesting a blood level measurement of a drug is part of the global approach known as "Therapeutic Drug Monitoring". Diverse situations require this monitoring approach, such as inadequate response to treatment or organ failure. Every drug however does not possess all the characteristics for a TDM program. The therapeutic range of a TDM drug has indeed to be narrow and its interindividual pharmacokinetic variability to be wide. As the development of new drugs is currently slowing down, the precise management of existing treatments certainly deserves progress, but needs however to be applied rationally, starting from a valid indication to blood sampling, and ending with a sound dosage adaptation decision.
authors.affiliation: Division de pharmacologie et toxicologie cliniques, CHUV et Université de Lausanne.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Widmer
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Csajka
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Werner
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grouzmann
authors.forename: Laurent A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Decosterd
authors.forename: Chin B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Eap
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Biollaz
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Buclin