[Physiologic variability of plasma catecholamines].

In an earlier publication, we described a modified procedure for the determination of plasma catecholamine levels using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), followed by amperometry. In this paper, we present our results on the variability of normal catecholamine values in plasma for noradrenaline (NA), adrenaline (A) and dopamine (DA). In 122 women and men at rest, the range for NA was 0.15-3.5 nmol/l, for A 0.01-0.8 nmol/l and for DA 0.04-4.5 nmol/l. We also describe the effects of orthostasis, intravenous catheters, food intake, cigarette smoking, age and sex on venous catecholamine levels. The efficiency of the HPLC method allowed us to check, using a large subject group, the results obtained by other authors from studies involving smaller subject groups with more expensive and time-consuming methods.