A high performance liquid chromatographic method is described for estimation of glibenclamide in human serum. After precipitation with methanol, the separation of glibenclamide and internal standard was accomplished using reversed phase chromatography. The mobile phase, a combination of acetonitrile and 25 mM phosphate buffer (pH 3.5) at 3:2 ratio was run isocraticaly through a C18 analytical column. The UV detection was done at 253 nm for glibenclamide. Analytical run time was less than 12 min. Mean recovery was 92% for 0.5 µg/ml concentrations. The assay exhibited good linear relationship between peak area ratios and serum concentration. Quantification limit was at least 25 ng/ml of glibenclamide and accuracy and precision were over the concentration range of 50-500 ng/ml. Assay was successfully applied to the measurement of glibenclamide in serum for therapeutic drug monitoring.

Anesthesia for day case or ambulatory surgery must be specifically tailored to meet its specialized goals, and the use of sevoflurane helps to meet these goals. Maintenance of sevoflurane anesthesia is associated with good titratability and short early recovery times. The rapidity and quality of recovery after sevoflurane anesthesia are as good or better than other available agents. Clinically more important are the new inhalation induction options possible with sevoflurane. These include vital capacity induction of general anesthesia in adult patients, intubation without neuromuscular blocking drugs, and management of selected patients with difficult airways. Anesthesia by facemask or LMA is easily performed without agent-related irritative side effects. The cost of induction with sevoflurane is significantly less than the standard agent propofol, and is even less when sevoflurane is used for both induction and intubation. The costs of maintenance with sevoflurane are more than isoflurane but less than propofol, and can be reduced to low money amounts by the use of N2O and low fresh gas flows, as well as elimination of the anesthetic adjuvant drugs. These new, cost effective anesthetic techniques are useful additions to the spectrum of anesthetic choices for ambulatory surgery.