Abstract
DECREASED and variable clearance of theophylline in premature infants has led to the recommendation that serum concentrations of this drug be monitored when it is used for control of apnea. 1 Theophylline concentration data have been reported as whole blood concentration by some researchers '~. 3 and as serum or plasma concentration by others?. ~ Schack and Waxier ~ have reported that red blood cells do not apparently contain theophylline. If this is the case, the hemolysis of samples prior to analysis of whole blood theophylline concentration would produce a dilution of theophylline present in the plasma, the magnitude of which would be proportional to the hematocrit of the sample. As hematocrits are frequently elevated and vary markedly from patient to patient in newborn infants, the relationship between whole blood and plasma theophylline concentration would be expected to be extremely variable. The purpose of this study was to determine this relationship in premature neonates who were receiving theophylline for the treatment of apnea.
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