Shyam's Chromatography and TDM server in R shiny - an open source program for TDM laboratories

Abstract

Background: Chromatography based estimation of drug concentration forms a part of routine care of patients and in this field, the assay technologies has advanced significantly. However, estimation of the final concentration of drug in the biological sample require an expertise for the calculation, estimation and interpretation of output generated by these analytical instruments and for transforming data into meaningful report such that it gains clinical relevance in Therapeutic Drug Monitoring(TDM). In addition to this, the creation, maintenance and evaluation of the database of TDM records becomes a complex task especially in laboratories of the developing countries. Methods: The shiny package working on R language along with its interactive user interface R studio was used for the development of the program targeting all the above mentioned drawbacks. Results: The program was successfully created and named as Shyam's Chromatography and TDM Server. Following development , the program codes were deposited in open source public repository (GitHub) under General Public Licence (GPL). The link for accessing the source code of the program is https://github.com/praveenkumarpgiindia/Chromatography-TDM-Server and a demonstration of the working program is provided at https://utilityshiny.shinyapps.io/chromatographic_calculation_interpretation_database/. The program provides five main tabs and two other tabs for guidance. The six main tabs are Estimation of results, Compilation of results, Evaluation of results, Reutilisation of results, Epitransformation of results, and Interpretation of results. Conclusion: The program has the ability to be scaled up further based on individual laboratory requirements such as incorporation of real time backup and sync of the database, alteration of the user interface and addition of further drugs for analysis. This program being open source, could be modified and utilised as an in-house program by TDM laboratories functioning through their respective server.