Determination of intraoperative plasma catecholamine concentrations using liquid chromatography with electrochemical...

Liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection was used for the determination of norepinephrine and epinephrine in human plasma samples obtained prior to, after, and six times during the course of spinal fusion surgery for the correction of scoliosis. The catecholamines were extracted from plasma by alumina adsorption and chromatographed isocratically using a reversed-phase, ion-pairing system. Data obtained are compared to those obtained intraoperatively by other authors using a radioenzymatic method, and the mechanism of sympathetic activation during surgery is discussed. Preliminary data using 3-micron particle size columns and dual-parallel electrochemical detection are presented.