What should your Dilantin level be?
What should your Dilantin level be?
Results are given in micrograms per milliliter (μ/mL). The normal therapeutic range for children and adults is 10 to 20 μ/mL (8 to 15 μ/mL in newborns).
When should Dilantin levels be checked?
A level can be taken 2-4 hours following an IV loading or top-up dose (12-24 hours for oral doses) and levels should then be monitored every 24 hours until control is achieved and concentration has stabilised.
Why do we check Dilantin levels?
The test may be ordered when a patient’s condition does not appear to be responding to phenytoin (continues to have seizures) to determine whether concentrations are too low, the medication is ineffective, and/or to determine if the patient is complying with therapy (taking the phenytoin regularly).
Why are Dilantin levels low?
Patients with unusually low levels may be noncompliant or hypermetabolizers of phenytoin. Unusually high levels result from liver disease, congenital enzyme deficiency, or drug interactions which result in metabolic interference.
What happens if Dilantin levels are too high?
What is Dilantin toxicity? Dilantin, or phenytoin, toxicity happens when you have high levels of Dilantin in your body that become harmful. Dilantin is a medicine that is used to prevent and treat seizures. Dilantin toxicity can lead to a coma.
What happens if you stop taking Dilantin?
Stopping DILANTIN suddenly can cause serious problems. Stopping a seizure medicine suddenly can cause you to have seizures more often or seizures that will not stop (status epilepticus). Like other antiepileptic drugs, DILANTIN may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people, about 1 in 500.
How fast do Dilantin levels drop?
The plasma half-life in man after oral administration of phenytoin averages 22 hours, with a range of 7 to 42 hours. Steady-state therapeutic levels are achieved at least 7 to 10 days (5–7 half-lives) after initiation of therapy with recommended doses of 300 mg/day.
How fast do DILANTIN levels drop?
What happens if you stop taking DILANTIN?
What does Dilantin do to your body?
Dilantin (phenytoin) is an anti-epileptic drug, also called an anticonvulsant. It works by slowing down impulses in the brain that cause seizures. Dilantin is used to control seizures.
What happens if Dilantin levels are too low?
Phenytoin blood testing is ordered because phenytoin blood levels must be maintained within a narrow therapeutic range. If levels are too low, the affected person may experience seizures; if they are too high, the person may experience symptoms associated with phenytoin toxicity.
What happens when you have high levels of Dilantin?
Dilantin, or phenytoin, toxicity happens when you have high levels of Dilantin in your body that become harmful.
What’s the best dosage to take Dilantin for?
Dilantin Dosage 1 Adult Dosage. 2 Pediatric Dosage. 3 Dosage Adjustments. 4 Switching Between Phenytoin Formulations. 5 Dosing in Patients with Renal or Hepatic Impairment or Hypoalbuminemia. 6 Geriatric Dosage. 7 Dosing during Pregnancy.
Is there a difference in phenytoin and Dilantin?
Inherent differences in dissolution characteristics and resultant absorption rates of phenytoin due to different manufacturing procedures and/or dosage forms preclude such recommendation for other phenytoin products. When a change in the dosage form or brand is prescribed, careful monitoring of phenytoin serum levels should be carried out.
What kind of salt is in Dilantin extended capsules?
DILANTIN extended capsules and parenteral DILANTIN are formulated with the sodium salt of phenytoin.