What does Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) involve?

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) specifically involves the collection and testing of blood to manage medication therapy. This practice is essential for ensuring that drug levels remain within a therapeutic range that is both effective and safe for the patient. Certain medications have narrow therapeutic ranges, meaning that there is a fine line between therapeutic and toxic levels, making TDM crucial for avoiding adverse effects and ensuring efficacy.

TDM typically involves measuring the concentration of a drug in the bloodstream at specific intervals and adjusting dosages based on those measurements. This process allows healthcare providers to optimize treatment regimens for individual patients, taking into account factors such as metabolism, clearance rates, and potential drug interactions.

The other options represent practices that do not directly apply to the core purpose of TDM. For instance, while assessing liver function and enzymes is often important in the context of drug metabolism, it does not entail the direct measurement of drug levels in the blood. Similarly, dietary intake and urine sample testing do not provide the specific information needed for optimizing medication dosages and efficacy in the way blood testing does.