Endocrine changes with critical illness.

Many alterations in hormonal economy occur predictably with critical illnesses, including changes in thyroid hormones, glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, and gonadotrophins. These effects are generally nonspecific and relate primarily to the severity of the illness, rather than to the exact nature of the illness. Thus a wide variety of critical illnesses, ranging from severe pneumonia to hepatic or renal failure, all tend to produce a similar pattern of "stress-induced" hormonal alterations.