NPS Phlebotomy Practice Exam

True or False: A glucose tolerance test can be used to diagnose adrenal insufficiency.

False True Not typically Depends on cortisol

Correct Answer:

True

Explanation:

A glucose tolerance test is used to assess how the body handles a glucose load, focusing on blood glucose and insulin response over a couple of hours. It’s a tool for diagnosing diabetes, gestational diabetes, or problems with insulin secretion, not for evaluating the adrenal axis. Adrenal insufficiency is diagnosed by measuring cortisol production, typically with a morning cortisol level and a subsequent ACTH stimulation (cosyntropin) test to see if cortisol increases appropriately. Because the GTT does not measure cortisol levels or adrenal responsiveness, it cannot diagnose adrenal insufficiency. So the statement isn’t accurate, since diagnosing adrenal insufficiency relies on cortisol testing, not glucose tolerance.

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