Comparison of enzymatic and liquid chromatographic chloramphenicol assays.

A radioenzymatic assay and a "high-performance" liquid chromatographic assay for chloramphenicol were compared by using 52 patient specimens, 24 mock unknowns, and 13 quality control samples. Both methods were found to be rapid, precise, accurate, and sensitive, and either would be suitable for monitoring chloramphenicol concentrations in small volumes of serum. Linear regression analysis of serum chloramphenicol concentrations in patients receiving chloramphenicol succinate yielded a regression equation of Y = 1.04X + 0.274 (X = high-performance liquid chromatographic assay; Y = radioenzymatic assay), with a correlation coefficient of 0.971.