Carbamazepine Screen Test

Sample

Plasma

Storage

2-8°C in dark, sealed, dry place, no frozen.

Detection Limit

0.25 ng/mL

General Description

Carbamazepine is widely used for the treatment of epilepsy, affective disorders, trigeminal neuralgia, and other conditions. Carbamazepine stabilizes the inactivation state of sodium channels both in the central nervous system and in the heart, thereby reducing depolarization and decreasing glutamate release. This may explain the neurological and cardiac effects observed in overdose situations. Measurement of carbamazepine concentration may have important implications for patient management. Carbamazepine concentrations above 40 mcg/ml are considered to be associated with the risk for severe clinical manifestations such as depressed consciousness, respiratory depression, cardiac conduction disorders, seizures, and death (1, 2).