The Development of a Matrix Reference Standard for Anti-Epileptic Analysis

Abstract

As blood level determinations of glucose, calcium, triglycerides and electrolytes have become important in the treatment and diagnosis of disease, so has the determination of anti-epileptic blood levels become important to the neurologist in the treatment of seizure disorders. The ranges of both therapeutic and toxic serum concentrations have been determined for phenytoin, phenobarbitone, ethosuximide, primidone and trimethadione. The optimal frequency of dosage can be determined by the patient’s drug clearance rate. Compliance can be monitored by determining blood levels of the drug. As the demand for anti-epileptic blood level determinations has increased, clinical laboratories have responded by developing methods consistent with the time and equipment available. Concomitant with these developments, a large number of scientific publications has appeared dealing with the determination of anti-epileptic drugs in biologic fluid.