Do you routinely check morning cortisol before discharging a patient who received more than 3 days of high-dose corticosteroids during a hospitalization for an acute illness?

No. In general, persistent HPA suppression does not occur when a single steroid treatment is shorter than 2 weeks.

There is not enough detail in the question to provide a clear answer. Usually, suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis would take more than just a few days. If someone has been on high-dose glucocorticoids for longer (e.g., two weeks), we would usually discharge the patient on a steroid taper. A morning cortisol can then be checked on an outpatient basis, once steroids are tapered down to physiologic replacement doses. If the taper is done while the patient is hospitalized, ...

I typically do not check labs prior to discharge of a patient receiving more than 3 days of high-dose GC during a hospitalization for an acute illness.