Catecholamines

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Blood test

Overview

Risks

Results

Catecholamines - blood

Alternative Names:

Norepinephrine - blood; Epinephrine - blood; Adrenalin - blood; Dopamine - blood

What the risks are:

Excessive bleeding
Fainting or feeling light-headed
Hematoma (blood accumulating under the skin)
Infection (a slight risk any time the skin is broken)
Multiple punctures to locate veins

Special considerations:

The test's accuracy is affected by several foods and drugs as well as such things as physical activity and stress.

Veins and arteries vary in size from one patient to another and from one side of the body to the other. Obtaining a blood sample from some people may be more difficult from some people than from others.

Review Date: 1/24/2005
Reviewed By: Thomas A. Owens, M.D., Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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