Under normal circumstances, Adrenal glands secrete 10 mg cortisol/day. In stress, this level can increase upto 200--300 mg/day. A person may have basal output but may not be able to increase cortisol secretion in times of stress, like during surgery, Trauma, pain and shock. In surgical patients coming for surgery, it may be very difficult to ascertain whether the cortical deficiency is present or not. History of weaknesses, weight loss, pigmentation is a sensitive indicator of Corticosteroids deficiency.
In the perioperative period, if hypotension persists even after adequate. Resuscitation with intravenous fluids and inotropes, one can consider adding STEROIDS in such Patients. Use of exogenous can cause functional suppression of Adrenal cortex. If the patient has received more than 20 mg/day prednisolone or its equivalent dose of other steroids for 3 weeks or more in 12 months…
