What Do My Blood Test Results Indicate?

Posted on Mon, 11 Jul 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 11 Jul 2016 Answered on

Mon, 1 Aug 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I recently had some blood work done looking for adrenal insufficiency - 60 minute free cortisol was fine - at 28>5 ug/dl - after a earlier cortisol test of 8.3 ug/dL (which seems low for a morning draw - labs done around 11:00. My ACTH was < 5 pg/mL and I was told there values are normal. All research I've done suggest that my ACTH should not be below 5 pg/mL unless I've been asleep for an hour or it's in the middle of the night - Am I correct in assuming that this value is 'not" normal.

Answered by Dr. Mirjeta Guni (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
The levels you reported are considered low.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I read carefully your concern.
First let me say that the time you have taken cortisol and ACTH ( if both are taken at 11 a.m.) is incorrect. ACTH is very variable during the day and the best time is considered 7-9 a.m.
The result you reported are low. ACTH <5 pg/ ml is considered low but it should be interpreted together with cortisol level.
If we take into consideration the cortisol level 8.3mcg/ ml, it means that both values are low.
The meaning of these values is that the pituitary gland for several reasons does not produce ACTH and as a result the adrenal gland does not produce enough cortisol.
Anyway, I would recommend to repeat both values at 8 a.m.
Hope the information will help.

Kind regards,
Dr.Mirjeta

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad