Pharmacopsychiatry 2011; 44(06): 249-253
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1286291
Review
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry[*]

K. M. Egberts
1   Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychsomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg, Germany
,
C. Mehler-Wex
2   Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Germany
,
M. Gerlach
1   Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychsomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg, Germany
3   TDM Laboratory, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychsomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg, Germany
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

received 26 January 2011
revised 03 April 2011

accepted 29 April 2011

Publication Date:
28 September 2011 (online)

Abstract

Psychopharmacotherapy in children and adolescents is characterized by an increased susceptibility for adverse events and an increased risk of ineffective treatment due to specific age-dependent and developmental characteristics in comparison to adults. Dosing in paediatric psychiatric patients requires careful handling, since the dose recommendations for adults can not simply be extrapolated to minors because of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic differences. In addition, psychopharmacotherapy in children and adolescents is hampered by lack of high quality evidence on efficacy and safety in many indications and subsequently a high degree of off-label use. Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) is an established and useful tool in psychiatry to individualize and optimize the outcomes (efficacy/safety balance) of psychopharmacological drug treatment in the individual patient by dose adjustments based upon measured serum concentrations. In children and adolescents the administration of psychotropic drugs is a general indication for performing TDM. However, TDM studies specific in these age groups are necessary to identify age and indication specific therapeutic ranges of serum concentrations. Systematic collection of data on drug exposure, serum concentrations and clinical characteristics as well as outcomes can generate such practice-based evidence. A German-Swiss-Austrian competence network for TDM in child and adolescent psychiatry using a multi-centre internet-based data infrastructure was founded to document and collect demographic, safety and efficacy data as well as blood concentrations of psychotropic drugs in children and adolescents (further information: www.tdm-kjp.com).

* 

* Parts of this paper are based on the article „Therapeutisches Drug Monitoring in der Kinder- und Jugendpsychiarie” [18] as well as on “Drug monitoring in child and adolescent psychiatry for improved efficacy and safety of psychopharmacotherapy” [22].


 
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