Clinical consequences: TDM useful to control whether plasma concentrations are plausible for a given dose; optimizing of clinical response In nonresponders who display low concentrations Is possible. 4. Probably useful Suggested therapeutic ranges from steady-state pharmacokinetic studies

at therapeutically effective doses. Level of evidence: Valid clinical data so far lacking or Inconsistent results. Clinical consequences: Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical TDM useful to control whether plasma concentrations are plausible for a given dose. 5. Not recommended Unique pharmacology of the drug, eg, irreversible blockade of an enzyme or flexible dosing according to clinical symptoms. Level of evidence: Textbook knowledge, basic pharmacology. Clinical consequences: TDM should not be used. Drug-specific TDM recommendations The knowledge of plasma concentrations ranges observed

after treatment of subjects at well-defined doses of the antidepressant Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical (Table III) may efficiently help the clinician In some of the situations listed in Table II: suspicion of noncompliance, drug Interactions, problems occurring after switching from an original preparation to a generic form (and vice versa), or presence of a pharmacogenetic PM or UM status. The information available in Table III is also helpful In situations where the levels of recommendations 3 and 4 apply (le, TDM useful or probably useful). Table Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical III. Dose-related steady-state plasma concentrations of antidepressants.11 Generally, arithmetic means ± standarad deviations are given; numbers in parentheses

indicate ranges. md# Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical median value; gm, geometric mean; m, males; f, females. *Extensive … However, the data presented In Table III are Insufficient to allow levels of recommendations Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical 1 or 2, as It does not Include studies on the plasma concentration–clinical effectiveness relationship. Therefore, the literature had to be reexamined to define which antidepressants may get a level 3 or 4 of recommendation for their monitoring. By consensus, a therapeutic range was then also defined for their “main” (= depression) indication (Table IV), as data for other indications (eg, anxiety disorders) are most often lacking, and some studies suggest that optimal ranges may differ, depending on the pathology154 Antidepressants differ widely in their chemical structure and their pharmacological activity, even though most are serotonergic isothipendyl and/or noradrenergic. “Therapeutic windows” have been defined for most tricyclic antidepressants, and TDM is recommended to avoid intoxications, which may be lethal (Table IV), As regards more check details recently introduced antidepressants, a clearcut plasma level–clinical effectiveness relationship was not demonstrated for tetracyclic antidepressants (maprotiline, mianserin, or mirtazapine), trazodone, reboxetine, the monoamine oxidase inhibitors mocloberoide and tranylcypromine,133 and SSRls.