Free Thyroxine Levels in Critically III Patients

Abstract
Two indices of free thyroxine (T4) and four methods of free T4measurement were compared in 85 patients with acute illness, hospitalized in intensive care units. All of the methods of free T4measurement in critical illness were nonspecific, and two of the methods failed to suggest hypothyroidism in two patients with primary hypothyroidism and another associated critical illness. Since the ideal screening test should be both sensitive and specific, all tests for free T4 used in this study should be interpreted with caution in severely ill patients. (JAMA1981;246:2702-2706)

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