Relationship of adrenocortical function and TCM Syndrome typing in elderly patients with severe sepsis

Objective: To explore the relationship between TCM Syndrome typing and adrenocortical function in elderly patients with severe sepsis, and to see whether TCM Syndrome Differentiation can provide clinical clues in identifying relative adrenal insufficiency (RAI) in patients with severe sepsis.Methods: Sixty-one old patients with severe sepsis were classified into four types according to TCM Syndrome Differentiation: The severe invasion of toxic-heat type (Type SITH,n = 21); the Qi stagnation and blood stasis type (Type QSBS,n = 11); the sudden depletion of Yang-Qi type (Type SDYQ,n = 16); and the exhaustion of Qi-Yin type (Type EOQY,n = 13). The base-line level of plasma cortisol in patients of different types and their response to corticotropin stimulation were compared, which were also compared with those of 12 healthy elderly persons synchronously.Results: The base-line level of plasma cortisol was not significantly different between patients of different Syndrome types (P>0.05), but they were all sgnificantly higher than that in the healthy persons (P