Serum Concentrations of Fluoxetine in the Clinical Treatment Setting

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Abstract
This article discusses fluoxetine serum concentrations as displayed in a clinical setting. A racemic serum fluoxetine and norfluoxetine high-performance liquid chromatography method, including ultraviolet light detection, was used for routine therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) purposes. In all, 508 samples were analyzed. For the scientific investigation, predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied and 150 samples representative of trough values in steady-state conditions with essential clinical information provided on the assay request forms were evaluated. Fluoxetine plus norfluoxetine concentration-to-dose (C/D) ratio showed Gaussian distribution. Interindividual coefficients of variation of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine serum concentrations after different doses were found to be 40–63%. Intraindividual fluoxetine TDM variability was low. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient for fluoxetine and norfluoxetine C/D ratios in first and second samples was 0.68. Minor increases in norfluoxetine C/D and fluoxetine plus norfluoxetine C/D ratios were found in elderly patients compared with younger adult patients. A higher body-mass index was associated with minor decreases in fluoxetine and fluoxetine plus norfluoxetine C/D ratios. New fluoxetine pharmacokinetic data are added to the results from earlier phases of drug development. Moreover, the results of this study support the usefulness of a fluoxetine TDM procedure for individual dose optimization, detection of drug interactions, and assessments of patient compliance.