[Therapeutic drug monitoring and the pharmacokinetics of carbamazepine in children with a convulsive syndrome]. / Terapevticheskii lekarstvennyi monitoring i farmakokinetika karbamazepina u detei s sudorozhnym sindromom.

An analysis of maximal and minimal serum concentrations of carbamazepine was performed in 40 children with convulsive syndrome. All the patients received the drug for a long period. Considerable case-to-case differences of serum concentrations in spite of practically equal doses were revealed. Serum drug concentrations were therapeutically optimal (6-8 mg/ml) only in one third of children. On the basis of pharmacokinetic parameters, mean optimal dosages sufficient for maintenance of effective and safe carbamazepine concentrations were calculated. As the child grows general clearance of carbamazepine decreases. Over the age of 9 years it is significantly lower in girls than in boys of the same age. Speed of carbamazepine elimination was higher in cases of combined treatment than in cases of monotherapy. Indications and optimal time for therapeutic drug monitoring of carbamazepine are determined and clinical illustrations are presented.