Determination of levetiracetam in plasma: Comparison of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technique and Abbot® Architect system

•A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the determination of levetiracetam was fully validated.•The method was compared with an immunoassay technique.•A correlation study was carried out between the results obtained by the two techniques. Epilepsy is a brain disease characterized by abnormal electrical activity causing seizures or unusual behaviour, sensations and sometimes loss of awareness. Levetiracetam is among the new anticonvulsant drugs that are replacing drugs such as carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital and valproic acid. In this work, the GC/MS method for the determination of levetiracetam in the Forensic Toxicology Laboratory of the University of Santiago de Compostela has been compared with the immunoassay method used in the laboratory of the University Hospital of A Coruña. The determination was performed by GC/MS in SIM mode using Levetiracetam-D6 as internal standard. The developed method was fully validated following the guidelines of the FDA. The method was shown to be linear in a concentration range of 2.5–25 µg/mL. Finally, the concentrations obtained by both methods were compared, obtaining a good correlation between the results.