[The pituitary-adrenal system and cortisol-resistant lymphocyte fraction in infants with acute pneumonia]

Changes in ACTH, STH, cortisol and in the cortisol-resistant lymphocyte fraction in the blood were studied in infants with different patterns and gravity of acute pneumonia. The dynamic changes in stressor-adaptive reactions and the magnitudes of the cortisol-resistant lymphocyte population attest to opposite changes in lymphocytes and in the adrenocortical system. The quantitative changes in the cortisol-resistant lymphocyte fraction determine the prospects of optimizing the principles of the steroid therapy in the pathology indicated.