Thyroid and Cortisol Changes in Critical Illness

It is known that metabolic and hormonal reactions that are responses to acute critical illnesses affect every organ and tissue in the body, however, only little is understood about the underlying mechanisms.Correction of these hormone levels as early as possible can lead to reduced stay in hospital and better prognosis.The present study aims to determine the thyroid and cortisol changes in acute severely ill patients and to assess their relationship with the severity of illness.The present prospective observational study was conducted in sixty critically ill patients grouped according to APACHE II score.The baseline characters that were used to calculate the APACHE II score were 1. Temperature, 2, heart rate, 3 hematocrit, 4 sodium levels, 5 potassium levels, 6 WBC count 7, pH, 8 pO2 10 respiratory rates 11 GCS.Blood samples were collected from patients at 1 and 8 days of admission by aseptic venipuncture.The samples were processed and levels of FT3, FT4, TSH and cortisol levels were assessed using standard protocol.The obtained data were recorded and subjected to statistical analysis.Groups were compared using one-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey HSD.Comparison among groups was done student t-Test method.Pearson chi-square test or Fisher exact test (2-tailed) was used to compare proportions.The p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.The results showed the normal values of various parameters in the 3 groups and will serve as a reference for the Indian population.