Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The stress response post-operatively increases glucocorticoid concentration and a higher cortisol response is associated with better recovery. The measurement of cortisol concentrations post-operatively can be unreliable due to altered binding protein concentrations. Free serum cortisol is felt to be the better marker of bio-active glucocorticoid concentrations but is difficult to measure. Salivary cortisol and cortisone have been shown to correlate well with ser...