Cyclosporin monitoring: its role in autoimmune indications.

This paper describes some of the methodological problems related to the measurement of cyclosporin. The clinical value of the measurements following organ transplantation are discussed and those areas also applying to autoimmune indications are highlighted. It is concluded that the routine use of cyclosporin monitoring in samples from patients receiving the drug for autoimmune indications is unlikely to be of significant value as a guide to efficacy or toxicity. However, some settings, such as suspected poor patient compliance, for the avoidance of potential drug interactions and for research on the absorption of new formulations are considered to be useful applications of the methodology.