Present and future trends in drug monitoring

The concept of drug monitoring is generally accepted for toxic drugs and for some particular pathological states. However its basis and its limits are still controversial. This paper outlines under which circumstances drug monitoring is of absolute necessity. This paper also deals with pharmacokinetics, i.e. the measurement of drug concentration as a tool in drug monitoring. Finally it tries to forecast future developments in this field using the analysis of receptors, found in blood cells, as probes of tissue receptors.