High‐performance liquid chromatography assay using ultraviolet detection for urinary quantification of milrinone concentrations in cardiac surgery patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass

An analytical assay using liquid–liquid extraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection was developed for the quantification of total (conjugated and unconjugated) urinary concentrations of milrinone after the inhalation of a 5 mg dose in 15 cardiac patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass. Urine samples (700 μL) were extracted with ethyl‐acetate and subsequently underwent acid back‐extraction before and after deconjugation by mild acid hydrolysis. Milrinone was separated on a strong cation exchange analytical column. The mobile phase consisted of a constant mixture of acetonitrile:tetrahydrofurane–NaH₂PO₄ buffer (40:60 v/v, pH 3.0). Thirteen calibration curves were linear in the concentration range of 31.25–4000 ng/mL, using olprinone as the internal standard (r² range 0.9911–0.9999, n = 13). Mean milrinone recovery and accuracy were respectively 85.2 ± 3.1% and ≥93%. Intra‐ and inter‐day precisions (coefficients of variation) were ≤5% and ≤8%, respectively. Over a 24 h collection period, the cumulative urinary milrinone recovered from 15 patients was 26.1 ± 7.7% of the nominal 5 mg dose administered. The relative amount of milrinone glucuronic acid conjugate was negligible in the urine of patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass This method proved to be reliable, specific and accurate to determine the cumulative amount of total milrinone recovered in urine after inhalation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.