ACTH Stimulation Test
An ACTH stimulation test measures cortisol, a stress hormone, before and after the vet gives an injection of ACTH, to see how the adrenal glands respond. It is used in dogs and cats to look for Addison's disease or Cushing's disease and to check treatment.
- Sample
- Serum (before and after ACTH)
- Quantity
- As advised
- Report
- Confirmed when you book
- Collection
- Free in Bhopal
What this test checks
- Cortisol in a serum sample taken before the ACTH injection
- Cortisol in a serum sample taken after the injection, at a time the vet plans
- How strongly the adrenal glands respond when ACTH tells them to make cortisol
- Patterns that may point to Addison's disease, Cushing's disease or effects of steroid medicines
Benefits of this test
- Commonly used to look for Addison's disease, which can otherwise be hard to spot.
- Can help your vet look for Cushing's disease alongside other tests.
- Helps your vet check how well treatment for Cushing's disease is working.
- Can show whether long-term steroid medicines have affected the adrenal glands.
- Needs only two blood samples taken during one visit to the vet.
When your vet may advise it
- Drinking and passing urine much more than usual, with a big appetite and a pot belly.
- Hair loss on the body, thin skin or heavy panting, often in a middle-aged or older dog.
- Vomiting, diarrhoea, weakness or weight loss that comes and goes.
- Sudden weakness or collapse when your vet suspects Addison's disease, which is an emergency.
- Checking treatment for Cushing's disease, at times your vet plans.
- After long-term use of steroid medicines, when your vet wants to check the adrenal glands.
About this test
The adrenal glands are two small glands near the kidneys. They make cortisol, a hormone that helps the body handle stress and control energy. A hormone called ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone), made by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain, tells the adrenal glands when to release cortisol. When the glands make too much or too little cortisol, a dog or cat can become ill.
In an ACTH stimulation test, the veterinarian takes a blood sample, gives an injection of ACTH and takes a second sample after a set time. Cortisol is then measured in both serum samples. The vet gives the injection and plans the timing; the lab only tests the samples. Healthy adrenal glands respond with a clear rise in cortisol. Too strong a response may suggest Cushing's disease (hyperadrenocorticism), where the body makes too much cortisol. Little or no response may suggest Addison's disease (hypoadrenocorticism), where it makes too little, or that steroid medicines have affected the glands.
Vets commonly use this test to look for Addison's disease, to help look for Cushing's disease and to check how treatment for Cushing's disease is working. It can miss some cases of Cushing's disease, so a normal result does not always rule it out. Your vet may then add a Low-dose Dexamethasone Suppression Test (LDDST) or a Urine Cortisol Creatinine Ratio (UCC Ratio). Steroid medicines and other illnesses can change the result. A registered veterinarian reads the result together with your pet's signs, history and other tests.
How to prepare
Your vet tells you whether to withhold food and what to do about your pet's usual medicines on the test day; tell the vet about every medicine, including steroid creams and ear or eye drops. The lab confirms the method, sample needs and reporting time when you book.
Reading the result
A registered veterinarian reads both cortisol results together with your pet's signs, history and other tests. The result depends on correct timing, the injection given and any medicines, especially steroids. A normal result does not always rule Cushing's disease out, so your vet may repeat the test or add an LDDST or a UCC ratio.
Questions about ACTH Stimulation Test
What is an ACTH stimulation test in dogs?
Can the ACTH stimulation test diagnose Cushing's disease?
Does my pet need to stay at the clinic for an ACTH stimulation test?
Is the ACTH stimulation test used in cats?
Before you book this test
Why this notice: so you know, before you book, how a test is done, what its limits are and who is responsible.
- Where it is tested. Some tests are done wholly or partly by an independent partner laboratory. The lab tells you before booking if this test is sent out, and the report names the laboratory that did it.
- What a result can and cannot tell you. No test is right every time. A normal result does not rule out every disease, and an abnormal result does not prove one. A registered veterinarian should read the report with the animal’s signs and history before any treatment is started, changed or stopped.
- The sample. A sample that is clotted, too small, wrongly labelled, leaking or too old may be rejected or reported with a note, and the lab may ask for a fresh one.
- Reporting time. Confirmed when you book. Times are estimates, not guarantees, and the lab confirms the time when you book.
- Emergencies. A booking or a pending report must not delay urgent care. If an animal has collapsed, struggles to breathe, has fits or bleeds heavily, call a veterinarian at once.
Please read our Terms of Service, Medical Disclaimer, Privacy Policy and Refund and Cancellation Policy. Pashupatinath Vet Lab is operated by Duaji Healthcare and Tech Private Limited. This page is general information and does not replace a veterinarian’s advice.
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ACTH Stimulation Test: Bhopal and the big cities of Madhya Pradesh
Free sample collection anywhere in Bhopal. From the other cities, send the sample by courier, bus parcel or through your local veterinarian, and the report comes to you online.
Free collection in these Bhopal areas
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Cushing's and Addison's Disease: Cortisol and ACTH Tests
Cushing's disease means a dog makes too much of the hormone cortisol, and Addison's disease means it makes too little. Cortisol and ACTH blood tests, with a stimulation or suppression test, help a vet tell them apart from other illnesses.
18 Oct 2026