Melatonin and cortisol exhibit different circadian rhythm profiles during septic shock depending on timing of onset: a prospective observational study.

Background: Septic shock has been found to disrupt circadian rhythms. Moreover, timing of onset has been associated with different circadian profiles in experimental studies.

Results: In this prospective study, we enrolled 26 patients divided into two groups: Group A (N = 15) included subjects who had septic shock at the time of ICU admission and Group B (N = 11) included patients who developed septic shock during ICU admission.