Fig. 1.

24 h UFC levels before and after administration of dexamethasone. The basal level of 24 h UFC in the PPNAD group was higher than that of ADA (Fig. 1a, P < 0.017), after low-dose and high-dose dexamethasone. 24 h UFC in patients with PPNAD increased, while in patients with ADA and BMAH the 24 h UFC decreased or remained unaltered. The 24 h UFC level after LDDST was higher in the PPNAD group and BMAH as compared to ADA (P < 0.017), while no significant difference between PPNAD and BMAH was observed (Fig. 1b). After administration of HDDST, 24 h UFC was higher in patients with PPNAD as compared to that of ADA and BMAH (Fig. 1c, P < 0.017). The ratio of 24 h UFC posterior to DST to before DST (Fig. 1d, e) showed a significant difference between PPNAD and the other two groups