Plasma cortisol responses to cortrosyn treatment in asthmatic children

Treatment trial over a period of 3 months was conducted with intermittent intramuscular injections of Cortrosyn depot in fourteen children with severe and frequent asthmatic attacks. The basal plasma cortisol levels were generally high, but higher than normal in four (29%) of the patients. At a period of 24 h after the initial Cortrosyn injection was administered, plasma cortisol increases ranging between 4-52 micrograms/100 ml above the basal levels were recorded. At a period of 1 week after the end of daily injections for 1 week, increases of plasma cortisol ranging between 3-71 micrograms/100 ml above the basal levels were observed and presumed to be a reflection of an associated adrenal hypertrophy resulting from repetitive daily Cortrosyn injections. The highest increases at this stage were observed in the youngest patients with the severest asthmatic attacks, but not in their older counterparts. At the end of the trial treatment, clinical improvement was associated with lowered plasma cortisol levels compared with the elevated basal values.