Relationship between arterial and peripheral venous catecholamine plasma catecholamine concentrations during infusion of noradrenaline and adrenaline in healthy volunteers.

Noradrenaline and adrenaline were infused IV at 5 different rates (0.01-0.2 micrograms.kg.min-1) for 30 min to volunteers. The plasma catecholamine concentrations were determined by HPLC and electro-chemical detection. At the highest infusion rate, the arterial and venous plasma concentrations of noradrenaline increased from 1.18 to 44.1 nmol.l-1 and from 1.14 to 31.9 nmol.l-1, respectively, and of adrenaline from 0.29 to 23.9 nmol.l-1 and from 0.28 to 19.3 nmol.l-1, respectively. The peripheral venous plasma concentration of noradrenaline averaged 76% of the arterial concentration, and of adrenaline it was 73%. There was a linear relationship between the peripheral venous and arterial plasma noradrenaline and adrenaline concentrations at therapeutic doses.