ELEVATED SERUM THYROTROPIN [TSH] LEVELS IN CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS WITH ACQUIRED-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-SYNDROME (AIDS)

Study Objective: To determine thylotropin (TSH) reserve in critically ill patients with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Design: P rospective longitudinal. Setting: Six hundred (600) bed municipal hosp ital serving a poor neighborhood in New York City with a high incidenc e of AIDS mainly from intravenous drug abuse. Patients ann Methods: Tw elve (12) patients with AIDS, who were in the Intensive Care Unit or c ritically ill on medical wards, were evaluated consecutively with base line thyroid function tests and serum thyrotropin (TSH) response to th yroid releasing hormone testing. Results: 66.7% of patients had elevat ed TSH levels. All patients had low triiodothyronine (T-3), six patien ts had low thyroxine (T-4) levels. Results. (cont'd). Six patients met the criteria for hypothyroidism. Two patients met the criteria for su bclinical hypothyroidism. Conclusion: Elevated TSH levels and hypothyr oidism are common in our critically ill population with AIDS.