Carbamazepine (Finlepsin, Tigretol, Zeptol) (chromatography)
Carbamazepine (Finlepsin, Tegretol, Zeptole) is an antiepileptic drug used to treat epilepsy, trigeminal neuralgia, and bipolar disorder. Control of carbamazepine levels in the blood is necessary due to its narrow therapeutic window and marked interindividual variability in metabolism. Heightened concentrations of the drug may cause toxic reactions (dizziness, ataxia, diplopia, agranulocytosis), while low concentrations may lead to a decrease in anticonvulsant efficacy.
HPLC-MS/MS (high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry) provides high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity in measuring carbamazepine concentrations in blood, unlike less sensitive immunoassay methods.