Can basal cortisol measurement be an alternative to the insulin tolerance test in the assessment of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis before and after pituitary surgery?

Background: The aims of this study were to evaluate the validity of preoperative basal serum cortisol levels measured in predicting preoperative adrenal insufficiency and also the validity of basal serum cortisol levels and early postoperative insulin tolerance test (ITT) in predicting postoperative adrenal insufficiency