Noradrenaline, adrenaline and dopamine levels were measured using high-perf
ormance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrochemical detection and rela
ted to urine creatinine in 30 specimens from unselected autopsies. Values c
alculated from patients with essential hypertension were used as a referenc
e and raised values of noradrenaline, adrenaline and dopamine were found in
76.6, 80 and 23.3%, respectively. Using the Mann-Whitney U test, there was
no difference between the 11 patients with myocardial infarction and the s
even who died from severe head injury or multiple trauma. The median values
in mmol/mol creatinine for patients with myocardial infarction and trauma
were 0.07 and 0.12 for noradrenaline and 0.012 and 0.024 for adrenaline, re
spectively. Physiological stress is common before death and urine noradrena
line values at autopsy overlap those found in some normal subjects and at a
utopsy in patients with phaeochromocytoma. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Irelan
d Ltd. All rights reserved.