The dose–response relationship: stimulated cortisol results on variable doses of loperamide
| October 2012 | February 2015 | May 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily loperamide dose | 50 mg | 6 mg | 20 mg |
| Response to synacthen | Serum cortisol (nmol/L)* | ||
| Baseline | 135 | 604 | 186 |
| 30 min | 191 | 766 | 385 |
| 60 min | 243 | 833 | 483 |
| Plasma ACTH (ng/L)† | |||
| Baseline | 20 | 64 | 13 |
The synacthen (tetracosactide) tests performed in 2015 were carried out 30 hours after the previous dose of hydrocortisone had been taken.
*Normal peak cortisol response to synacthen (tetracosactide) is 550 nmol/L or more.
†Reference range for plasma ACTH is 10–55 ng/L.
ACTH, adrenocorticotropic hormone.