title: Therapeutic drug monitoring of atypical antipsychotic drugs.
abstract: Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder often associated with cognitive impairment and affective, mainly depressive, symptoms. Antipsychotic medication is the primary intervention for stabilization of acute psychotic episodes and prevention of recurrences and relapses in patients with schizophrenia. Typical antipsychotics, the older class of antipsychotic agents, are currently used much less frequently than newer atypical antipsychotics. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of antipsychotic drugs is the specific method of clinical pharmacology, which involves measurement of drug serum concentrations followed by interpretation and good cooperation with the clinician. TDM is a powerful tool that allows tailor-made treatment for the specific needs of individual patients. It can help in monitoring adherence, dose adjustment, minimizing the risk of toxicity and in cost-effectiveness in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The review provides complex knowledge indispensable to clinical pharmacologists, pharmacists and clinicians for interpretation of TDM results.
authors.forename: Milan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grundmann
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kacirova
authors.forename: Romana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Urinovska
mesh_terms: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D055118:Medication Adherence; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents