Plasma levels of phenobarbital and phenytoin in epileptic outpatients.

In a group of 65 epileptic outpatients the reliability of intake of prescribed medication was evaluated according to two criteria. The following results were obtained: the number of patients with no or irregular intake of antiepileptic drugs in the whole group was 28%; the relationship between dose and observed plasma levels in patients reliable to intake could be verified; physicians were more often aware of unreliable intake by their patients than could be expected by chance.