Plasma somatostatin correlates with blunted thyrotropin secretion after stimulation by thyrotropin-releasing hormone in critical illness.

To clarify whether plasma somatostatin affects thyrotropin secretion in critical illness, plasma somatostatin and thyrotropin responses to thyrotropin-releasing hormone were studied in forty-three critically ill patients. High somatostatin levels were associated with blunted thyrotropin secretion in critically ill patients. There was an inverse correlation between plasma somatostatin levels and the maximum increment of thyrotropin after stimulation by thyrotropin-releasing hormone.