[Saliva and plasma levels of carbamazepine have a poor correlation: a pilot study].

Unlabelled: Carbamazepine is one of the most commonly used anticonvulsants for the treatment of epilepsy and its plasma concentrations must be monitored periodically to obtain a useful and safe clinical effect. There is not a good relationship between the dose of the carbamazepine and their effects in humans, but the effects of this drug have been well correlated with its plasma levels.

Aim: To measure the correlation between plasma and saliva levels of carbamazepine in children with epilepsy.

Material And Methods: Saliva and plasma levels of carbamazepine were measured by using instrumental planar chromatography in 11 epileptic children aged 8 to 15 years treated with the drug for at least six months.

Results: The mean saliva/plasma ratio was 0.18+/-0.05 and the mean of carbamazepine concentration in saliva, expressed as a percentage of concentrations in plasma, was 17.97+/-5.40. There was a poor linear correlation (r=0.37) between the concentrations of carbamazepine in both fluids.

Conclusions: In this group of epileptic children the correlation between saliva and plasma carbamazepine levels was weak.