clinical uses
Last reviewed 01/2018
ACTH is used to:
- investigate adrenal cortical insufficiency:
- an intramuscular dose is given
- the change in baseline plasma cortisol is monitored
- treat:
- on occasion, an underactive adrenal cortex that is not producing enough corticosteroid
- rarely, to treat inflammatory disorders rather than using exogenous glucocorticoids which would otherwise have deliterious catabolic side effects; this may be important in children