Abstract
1. The wide uses of tricyclic antidepressants in patients with anxiety and depression in the field of psychiatry were discussed.2. The degrees of correlation were studied between the blood levels of amitriptyline and antidepressive effects, and between the blood levels and incidences of side effects.i) The effective group (excellent and good) had an amitriptyline blood level of 19.4±4.0 ng/ml, and the ineffective group (fair and unchanged) 47.0±6.3 ng/ml. And there was statistically significant difference between the two groups.ii) The correlations between the blood levels of amitriptyline and the efficacy, namely, the percentage changes in Hamilton's scores showed the lower bood levels in the patients with higher effectiveness (P<0.05).iii) These was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of side effects between the low level group and the high level group of amitriptyline blood concentration.
