LOW PLASMA-LEVELS OF ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE INFLUENZA

Plasma levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol were measured in young adults with influenza virus type A (H3N2) infection for whom cultures were positive and in comparable controls without sym ptoms or other evidence of illness. The mean plasma ACTH level +/- SE in 19 patients with acute influenza was 13.5 +/- 2.1 pg/mL compared wi th 23 +/- 3.2 pg/mL in 11 controls (P=.02). Mean plasma ACTH levels +/ - SE had risen to 21 +/- 4.1 pg/mL in specimens obtained from patients during convalescence. The mean plasma cortisol level +/- SE in patien ts with acute influenza was 13.7 +/- 1.4 mu g/dL compared with 10.8 +/ - 1.0 mu g/dL in controls (P = not significant). ACTH levels in indivi dual controls were relatively higher than their cortisol levels, but A CTH levels in patients tended to be lower than cortisol levels in pair ed specimens. These findings suggest that influenza virus type A infec tion may have an inhibitory effect on the production or release of ACT H.