Baclofen does plasma level monitoring have a clinical role

Patients vary considerably in their dosage requirements of the muscle relaxant drug, baclofen. A study was therefore performed to determine whether plasma level monitoring of baclofen would assist in the individualization of its dosage. Maintenance dosages, steady-state peak and trough plasma concentrations of baclofen, and clinical response were examined in 13 patients with varying degrees of muscle spasticity. Peak plasma concentrations of baclofen and clinical response were significantly related, but the relationship was weaker than that observed between daily dosage and clinical response. It can be concluded that plasma level monitoring would have only a limited clinical role in ascertaining whether baclofen dosage is adequate.sbd.most patients will require a dosage of at least 50 daily, resulting in steady-state plasma concentrations above 250 ng/mL (peak) and 50 ng/mL (trough).