[Plasma concentrations of clomipramine and its desmethyl metabolite in man. Methodologic limits]

The purpose of the present work was to study the correlations between clinical response and plasma concentrations of clomipramine or desmethylclomipramine, using two different methods of dosage: radio-immunoassay and high pressure liquid chromatography, compared with mass spectrometry method. The results vary according to the method used, suggesting that methodological problems might explain, at least partly, the discrepancies observed in the literature.