Quinidine, Serum or Plasma

CPT: 80194
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Expected Turnaround Time

1 - 3 days


Specimen Requirements


Specimen

Serum or plasma


Volume

1 mL


Minimum Volume

0.3 mL


Container

Red-top tube or green-top (heparin) tube. Do not use a gel-barrier tube. The use of gel-barrier tubes is not recommended due to slow absorption of the drug by the gel. Depending on the specimen volume and storage time, the decrease in drug level due to absorption may be clinically significant.


Collection

Transfer separated serum or plasma to a plastic transport tube. Peak: quinidine sulfate: 11/2 hours after dose, quinidine gluconate: four hours after dose; trough: immediately prior to next dose; after change in dose: one to two days.


Storage Instructions

Room temperature


Stability Requirements

Temperature

Period

Room temperature

14 days

Refrigerated

14 days

Frozen

14 days

Freeze/thaw cycles

Stable x3


Causes for Rejection

Gel-barrier tube; severe hemolysis; lipemia; icteric specimen


Test Details


Use

This Class 1A drug is useful in both supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias. It major uses are to maintain sinus rhythm after conversion of atrial flutter or fibrillation, to prevent ventricular tachycardia, and for long-term prophylaxis in patients with AV nodal reentrant tachycardia and automatic atrial tachycardia. Quinidine also has been used to prevent symptomatic premature supraventricular and ventricular complexes. Because it slows conduction and prolongs the refractory period of the accessory pathway and suppresses automaticity of ectopic pacemakers, quinidine may prevent recurrences of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia caused by reentry over a concealed pathway or AV reciprocating tachycardia associated with the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. It also may slow the ventricular response to atrial flutter or fibrillation in the preëxcitation syndrome. Quinidine is often preferred to procainamide for long-term therapy because elevated antinuclear antibody titers and drug-induced lupus are common during prolonged therapy with procainamide.


Methodology

Immunoassay (IA)


Reference Interval

Therapeutic: 2.0−5.0 μg/mL


Critical Value

Potentially toxic: >5.0 μg/mL

Additional Information

Optimal resampling time after change in dosage is one to two days. Biologic half-life is about six to eight hours. Doses of quinidine >250 mg/day result in increased serum digoxin concentrations about 2.5 times the digoxin concentration before quinidine was added. The new steady-state of digoxin concentration occurs in 7 to 14 days, with signs of toxicity beginning to appear in three to seven days after initiation of quinidine therapy. Therefore, serum digoxin concentrations should be measured before initiation of quinidine therapy and again in four to six days. Measure trough because of variability of peak interval. Renal failure prolongs apparent half-life, perhaps through accumulation of fluorescent metabolites. Severe heart failure also prolongs half-life, as does liver disease. Concomitant administration of phenytoin increases hepatic metabolism, and therefore decreases half-life and serum quinidine concentrations. Clearance may be diminished in the elderly.1


Footnotes

1. Montamat SC, Cusack BJ, Vestal RE. Management of drug therapy in the elderly. N Engl J Med. 1989 Aug 3; 321(5):303-309. 2664519

References

American Medical Association, Division of Drugs and Toxicology. Drug Evaluations Subscription. Chicago, Ill: AMA, Winter 1993.

LOINC® Map

Order Code Order Code Name Order Loinc Result Code Result Code Name UofM Result LOINC
007831 Quinidine, Serum 6694-4 007831 Quinidine, Serum ug/mL 6694-4

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