Corticosteroid Misadventures

Abstract

Misadventures and tragic events related to corticosteroids, some involving medical malpractice, some involving prescription errors, some involving illegal excessive refills of steroid prescriptions, and some the result of valid, legitimate steroid medication use, compel the pharmacist to continuous scrutiny and awareness of the serious toxicity related to corticosteroid medication. The pharmacist is encouraged to always pay special attention to the use, dose, frequency, duration, and effects of steroids. Good, complete pharmaceutical care will help limit toxicities associated with this important class of drugs, and thus limit the misadventures. This article provides the pharmacist reader with a review of the pharmacology, clinical uses, and adverse effects. Case discussions, both from the literature, and from litigation are presented, with appropriate discussion to demonstrate certain key information.