Abbott Laboratories announced the addition of two new assays to its therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) test menu for use on Abbott's Architect c8000, Architect ci8200 and Aeroset immunochemistry systems.

Abbott's Multigent digoxin assay monitors levels of an anti-arrhythmic drug used in patients with heart problems, while Abbott's Multigent valproic acid assay checks for levels of a commonly used anticonvulsant drug. Both assays are easy to use, provide precise and accurate results down to low drug levels and show minimal interference from other blood components. Both the Multigent digoxin and Multigent valproic acid assays provide customers with a convenient, ready-to-use liquid formulation.

"We continue to expand our TDM test menu for our clinical chemistry platforms," said William Brown, Ph.D., vice president, diagnostic assays and systems development, Abbott Laboratories. "These two assays offer excellent comparison to Abbott's other gold standard AxSYM TDM tests."

The Multigent digoxin assay utilizes a small sample size of 15 uL and provides rapid results with a 10-minute turnaround time. Sensitive and specific, the Multigent digoxin assay has low cross reactivity to most metabolites. Additionally, this assay has minimal interference from endogenous blood components and no significant interference from spironolactone, a diuretic, or its metabolite, canrenone. The Multigent digoxin assay features an on-board reagent stability and calibration stability of 60 days.

The Multigent valproic acid assay uses a small sample size of 4 uL and provides rapid results with a 10-minute turnaround time. This assay is also sensitive and specific with minimal interference from endogenous blood components. The Multigent valproic acid assay offers an on-board reagent stability of 54 days and calibration stability of 27 days.

"Today, pharmaceuticals provide tremendous benefits for patients. However, too much or too little of some drugs can negatively impact the patient's health. That's why it's important to be able to use therapeutic monitoring to help manage certain drugs," said Steven H. Wong, Ph.D., professor of Pathology, and director, Clinical Chemistry/Toxicology, TDM, Pharmacogenomics and Proteomics, Medical College of Wisconsin.

Adverse reactions to high levels of digoxin may include ventricular problems such as premature contraction, fibrillation or tachycardia. Digoxin also can cause nausea, vomiting, tremors and anorexia. Valproic acid adverse reactions may include nausea, vomiting, tremors, drowsiness, mild ataxia and hyperammonemia.