Dexamethasone Suppression Test

This test can be used to determine the source of significantly elevated androgens. After drawing baseline DHEAS, testosterone, and cortisol, the patient is given eight doses of 0.5 mg of dexamethasone over 48 hours, and these tests are redrawn.

This test was introduced as a laboratory marker, specifically identifying endogenously depressed individuals. This survey illustrates the present dispute about the DST's diagnostic confidence and clinical value and related biochemical aspects in a psychiatric population.

It is suspected that obesity, the most common manifestation of Cushing's syndrome, reduces the specificity of the 1 mg overnight dexamethasone suppression test (DST), making it a less useful screening tool in this population.