Frequency of euthyroid sick syndrome as assessed by free thyroxine index and a direct free thyroxine assay. A limitation of FT4 assays.

The frequency of the euthyroid sick syndrome (ESS) was assessed in 3444 hospital patients. For the first 6 months the free thyroxine index (FTI) was used: 3.6% of 1674 patients had ESS compared with 17.3% of 1770 in the second 6 months diagnosed by a direct free thyroxine (FT4) assay ("Amerlex'). The relative frequencies of each type of ESS (low triiodothyronine [T3] only, low T3 plus low FT4 or FTI, and high FT4 or FTI with normal or low T3) and the frequencies of hypothyroidism (high TSH) and hyperthyroidism (high FTI/FT4 and T3) were similar in both periods. In the FT4 period requests for T3 assays increased by 300%. Measurements of both FT4 and FTI in 46 patients with ESS confirmed that ESS is diagnosed more frequently with the FT4 assay: the distribution of normal and abnormal T3 and reverse T3 levels were similar in FT4 ESS and FTIESS. FT4 is labile in illness and thus direct FT4 measurements also fluctuate, not necessarily reflecting thyroid status.