Cortisol, Random

Performed in Chemistry
BCGMC sends to BDMC
TCH, PCMH and WMC send to WyMCC
Page and BPMC send to Sonora Quest Laboratories

CORTR/S

For Page and BPMC-SQL Test Code: 8012

Green/Li
TCH, WMC, PCMH, WyMCC, Page and BPMC - SST

For facilities sending to SQL, see link below for specimen details, methodology, setup schedule and reference ranges.

For facilities not sending to SQL, refer to the Chemistry Reference Range document found on this page - Downtime

Cortisol (hydrocortisone) is quantitatively the major glucocorticoid product of the adrenal cortex. The main reason to measure cortisol is to diagnose human diseases which are caused by the overproduction of cortisol in Cushing’s syndrome (CS), deficiency of adrenal steroid excretion in Addison’s disease, and for therapy monitoring (e.g. therapies designed to reduce the excessive production of cortisol in Cushing's syndrome and hormone replacement therapy in Addison's disease). Cortisol plays an important role in the regulation of many essential physiological processes, including energy metabolism, maintenance of electrolyte balance and blood pressure, immunomodulation and stress responses, cell proliferation as well as cognitive functions. The major fraction of cortisol circulates bound to plasma proteins as corticosteroid binding globulin and albumin. The biologically active free fraction comprises only 2-5 % of the total hormone concentration. Elevated serum levels can be found in stress responses, psychiatric diseases, obesity, diabetes, alcoholism and pregnancy, which may cause diagnostic problems in patients with Cushing's syndrome. Low levels of cortisol are seen in patients with rare adrenal enzyme defects and after long-lasting stress. For diagnostic purposes the following analyses are used: Total and free cortisol in serum.