Pharmacopsychiatry 2011; 44(06): 195-235
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1286287
Review
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

AGNP Consensus Guidelines for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Psychiatry: Update 2011

C. Hiemke
1   Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of Mainz, Germany
,
P. Baumann
2   Department of Psychiatry, University of Lausanne, Prilly-Lausanne, Switzerland
,
N. Bergemann
3   Psychiatric Hospital, Bad Arolsen, Germany
,
A. Conca
4   Psychiatric Hospital, Bolzano, Italy
,
O. Dietmaier
5   Psychiatric Hospital, Weinsberg, Germany
,
K. Egberts
6   Department Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital of Würzburg, Germany
,
M. Fric
7   Kliniken des Bezirks Oberbayern (kbo) Salzach-Inn-Klinikum, Wasserburg a. Inn, Germany
,
M. Gerlach
6   Department Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital of Würzburg, Germany
,
C. Greiner
8   Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), Bonn, Germany
,
G. Gründer
9   Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Aachen, Germany
,
E. Haen
10   Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Psychiatry and Psychosomatics, University of Regensburg, Germany
,
U. Havemann-Reinecke
11   Department of Psychiatry and Psychosomatics, University of Göttingen, Germany
,
E. Jaquenoud Sirot
12   Psychiatric Hospital, Königsfelden, Brugg, Aargau, Switzerland
,
H. Kirchherr
13   Medical Laboratory Bremen, Germany
,
G. Laux
7   Kliniken des Bezirks Oberbayern (kbo) Salzach-Inn-Klinikum, Wasserburg a. Inn, Germany
,
U. C. Lutz
14   Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Germany
,
T. Messer
15   Psychiatric Hospital, Pfaffenhofen, Germany
,
M. J. Müller
16   Psychiatric Hospital, Marburg and Gießen, Germany
,
B. Pfuhlmann
17   Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Würzburg, Germany
,
B. Rambeck
18   Center of Epilepsy, Bielefeld, Germany
,
P. Riederer
17   Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital of Würzburg, Germany
,
B. Schoppek
19   Psychiatric Hospital, Haar, Germany
,
J. Stingl
20   Department of Pharmacology of Natural Products and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Ulm, Germany
,
M. Uhr
21   Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
,
S. Ulrich
22   Aristo Pharma GmbH, Berlin, Germany
,
R. Waschgler
23   Psychiatric Hospital, Feldkirch, Austria
,
G. Zernig
24   Experimental Psychiatry Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria
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Publikationsverlauf

Publikationsdatum:
27. September 2011 (online)

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Abstract

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), i. e., the quantification of serum or plasma concentrations of medications for dose optimization, has proven a valuable tool for the patient-matched psychopharmacotherapy. Uncertain drug adherence, suboptimal tolerability, non-response at therapeutic doses, or pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions are typical situations when measurement of medication concentrations is helpful. Patient populations that may predominantly benefit from TDM in psychiatry are children, pregnant women, elderly patients, individuals with intelligence disabilities, forensic patients, patients with known or suspected genetically determined pharmacokinetic abnormalities or individuals with pharmacokinetically relevant comorbidities. However, the potential benefits of TDM for optimization of pharmacotherapy can only be obtained if the method is adequately integrated into the clinical treatment process. To promote an appropriate use of TDM, the TDM expert group of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Neuropsychopharmakologie und Pharmakopsychiatrie (AGNP) issued guidelines for TDM in psychiatry in 2004. Since then, knowledge has advanced significantly, and new psychopharmacologic agents have been introduced that are also candidates for TDM. Therefore the TDM consensus guidelines were updated and extended to 128 neuropsychiatric drugs. 4 levels of recommendation for using TDM were defined ranging from “strongly recommended” to “potentially useful”. Evidence-based “therapeutic reference ranges” and “dose related reference ranges” were elaborated after an extensive literature search and a structured internal review process. A “laboratory alert level” was introduced, i. e., a plasma level at or above which the laboratory should immediately inform the treating physician. Supportive information such as cytochrome P450 substrate- and inhibitor properties of medications, normal ranges of ratios of concentrations of drug metabolite to parent drug and recommendations for the interpretative services are given. Recommendations when to combine TDM with pharmacogenetic tests are also provided. Following the guidelines will help to improve the outcomes of psychopharmacotherapy of many patients especially in case of pharmacokinetic problems. Thereby, one should never forget that TDM is an interdisciplinary task that sometimes requires the respectful discussion of apparently discrepant data so that, ultimately, the patient can profit from such a joint effort.