High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of ribavirin in serum and urine and of its urinary metabolite 1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide.

Only a few substances are known to demonstrate a broad spectrum of antiviral activity against DNA and RNA viruses both in vitro and in vivo. Among these agents, ribavirin (l-P-D-ribofuranosyl-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide) is a well known synthetic compound, structurally related to the naturally occurring ribonucleoside guanosine [ 1 ] . Its synthesis and antiviral activity were first described in 1972 by Witkowski et al. [ 21, and its in vitro and in vivo antiviral spectrum was later reported by other authors [ 3-71. The toxicology and pharmacology of ribavirin were assessed in experimental animals [ 81 as well as in humans, where its effects on the immune system [ 91 and blood compartment were investigated [lOI* Ribavirin demonstrated clinical effects in the treatment of influenza, viral pneumonia and respiratory syncytial viral infections [ 11-131 when administered as a small particle aerosol, and was effective in the treatment of type A hepatitis [ 141 and acute lassa fever [ 1.51 after oral administration. In view of the growing interest in the use of ribavirin in clinical practice, a simple and sensitive method