Normal values of catecholamines in blood plasma determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with...

Norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (EPI), and dopamine (DA) were determined in the blood plasma of 122 subjects by high-performance liquid chromatography with amperometric detection (HPLCA). The range of normal values in the supine position was 0.15-3.50 nmol/l for NE, 0.01-0.80 nmol/l for EPI, and 0.04-4.50 nmol/l for DA. The effect induced by inserting intravenous catheters, food intake, cigarette smoking, varying body positions, and sex differences are also presented in this paper. As a modified HPLCA method was used, we were able to examine a large collective group. Thus, it was possible to compare the results of other authors which have been found in smaller collective groups.