Baseline plasma-free cortisol , plasma total cortisol , and plasma-free cortisol/plasma total cortisol ratios were higher in nonsurvivors as compared with survivors ( 174 nmol/L [ 77-329 nmol/L ] vs 57 nmol/L [ 17-122 nmol/L ] , p = 0.016 ; 890 nmol/L [ 333-1 ,430 nmol/L ] vs 408 nmol/L [ 269-681 nmol/L ] , p = 0.035 ; and 0.19 [ 0.13-0 .29 ] vs 0.14 [ 0.07-0 .20 ] ; p = 0.054 , respectively ) .