[Serum anticonvulsant levels in therapy-resistant epileptics]

The continuous occurrence of particularly severe epileptic attacks represent a great stress for the patients. For this reason, we have conducted anticonvulsant blood-level studies particularly in these patients, this paper being based on 146 first determinations. Among the patients, most of whom are adults and are treated with combinations of drugs, only 24 per cent reached the assumed normal phenytoin range while 69 per cent remained below it. With the administration of phenobarbital, however, 50 per cent reached the therapeutic range and only 14 per cent reached the lower limiting value. It is only i the last-mentioned group that we assumed primarily an insufficient intake of the drugs while with DPH the problems of the determination of the plasma water range had to be discussed. In practice, blood level determinations have their special value for the detection of the intake of a wrong dosage of the drugs as well as bland anticonvulsant intoxications.