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Decreased Nocturnal Surge of Thyrotropin in Nonthyroidal Illness^*

Departments of Intensive Care (J.A.R.) and Endocrinology (W.M.W.), Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: J. A. Romijn, M.D., Department of Intensive Care, Academic Medical Centre, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

To evaluate the regulation of TSH secretion in nonthyroidal illness (NTI) we studied the nocturnal TSH surge in 11 healthy controls and 26 NTI patients; none of the patients was on medication known to interfere with TSH secretion. The presence of a nocturnal TSH surge was defined as a mean nighttime TSH (the mean of 5 samples taken hourly from 0000–0400 h) significantly greater than the mean daytime TSH (the mean of 5 samples taken from 1500–1900 h).

A nocturnal TSH surge was present in 11 of 26 NTI patients and in 11 of 11 controls (P < 0.01). Both the absolute (0.3 ± 0.1 vs. 1.0 ± 0.2 mU/L; P < 0.01) and relative (11 ± 6% vs. 71 ± 12%; P < 0.001) nocturnal TSH surges were lower in NTI patients than in controls. NTI patients had lower plasma T₃ (1.11 ± 0.08 vs. 1.84 ± 0.11 nmol/L; P < 0.001) and higher plasma rT₃ (0.81 ± 0.24 vs. 0.23 ± 0.01 nmol/L; P < 0.001) concentrations than controls, but T₄, FT₄, and TSH values were similar in both groups.

No differences were found between the 15 NTI patients without nocturnal TSH surge and the 11 patients with a nocturnal TSH surge in sex distribution, age, caloric intake, or plasma T₄ and T₃, but hospital mortality was slightly, although not significantly, higher in those with an absent nocturnal TSH surge. An absent nocturnal TSH surge occurred in 2 of 2 patients with a low TSH (<0.4 mU/L), in 11 of 20 patients with a normal TSH (0.4–4.0 mU/L), and in 2 of 4 patients with a high TSH (>4.0 mU/L). Pituitary TSH responsiveness to TRH was similar in patients with or without a nocturnal TSH surge.

We conclude that NTI is frequently associated with a decreased nocturnal TSH surge. This phenomenon is not related to ambient plasma T₄, T₃, or TSH concentrations or pituitary TSH responsiveness to TRH. A decreased nocturnal TSH surge appears to be one of the features of the sick euthyroid syndrome and is probably related to hypothalamic dysregulation.

^* Presented in part at the 17th Annual Meeting of the European Thyroid Association, La Grande Motte, France, September 11–16,1988.

Received .

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