Skip to main content

My patient on Steroids..

You are called for preoperative clearance of a patient who has taken 20 mg of prednisone daily for 2 weeks.

Should you be concerned about HPA axis suppression?

How long does it take prednisone to suppress the HPA axis?

Many sources cite that 3 weeks of daily therapy (of ≥20 mg) is needed to cause clinical blunting of the HPA axis. But the evidence base for this practice is unclear. Below we present 2 small studies of chemical – but not necessarily clinical – HPA suppression.
  • In a small study of 10 healthy patients, Carella et al. found no HPA suppression 1 week after completing a 1 week course of prednisone (40 mg/three times daily for 3 days, then tapered over the next 4 days).
  • In a small study of 9 COPD patients treated with 2 weeks of steroids, Schuetz et al. found HPA suppression up to 21 days after completing the course (40 mg of methylprednisolone, followed by an oral 13-day regime of 40 mg prednisone).
Schuetz P, Christ-Crain M, Schild U, et al. Effect of a 14-day course of systemic corticosteroids on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. BMC Pulm Med. 8:1-1.
Carella MJ, Srivastava LS, Gossain VV, Rovner DR. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function one week after a short burst of steroid therapy. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 1993;76(5):1188-1191. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8388401 [Accessed January 4, 2011].
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

power injectable peripherally inserted central catheters

Clinical experience with power injectable peripherally inserted central catheters in intensive care patients     Introduction In intensive care units (ICU), peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) may be an alternative option to standard central venous catheters, particularly in patients with coagulation disorders or at high risk for infection. Some limits of PICCs (such as low flow rates) may be overcome by the use of power-injectable catheters . Method We have retrospectively reviewed all the power injectable PICCs inserted in adult and pediatric patients in the ICU during a 12-month period, focusing on the rate of complications at insertion and during maintenance. Results We have collected 89 power injectable PICCs (in adults and in children), both multiple and single lumen. All insertions were successful. There were no major complications at insertion and no episodes of catheter-related blood stream infection. Non-infective complications ...
1 comment
Read more

The 12 decision making steps for post dural puncture headache treatment

Treatment decision-making algorithm for postdural puncture headache. 1. When diagnosis is made, all patients should receive supportive measures (reassurance, bed rest, analgesics, hydration, quiet environment). 2. Severity of symptoms should be classified using VAS scale (mild 1–3, moderate 4–6, severe 7–10). 3. Virtually all patients will improve in time even without additional therapy. (dashed lines) 4. Symptoms worsen or fail to resolve within 5 days. 5. Patient preference dictates the choice between pharmacologic (less effective) and epidural blood patch (EBP). 6. In patients with severe symptoms, EBP is strongly suggested. 7. The most common pharmacologic measure is  caffeine  prescription. 8. The failure, worsening, or recurrence of symptoms after pharmacologic measures favors the use of EBP. 9. In addition to EBP, other epidural treatment options can be considered in select patients (eg,  dextran , saline). 10. A period of 24 h should lapse before repeating EBP. 11...
1 comment
Read more

Things to Avoid in Anesthesia for Pregnant with Pulmonary hypertension

Anesthesia for Pregnant woman with Pulmonary Hypertension is a real challenge for anesthesiologist. It is very crucial to remember the pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension in pregnant women and to avoid some practices that will worsen the cardiac status. 1-Avoid single shot spinal anesthesia. Some authorities consider pulmonary hypertension as absolute contraindication for single shot spinal anesthesia specially in patients with NYHA III ,IV. Spinal anesthesia causes major hemodynamic instability(decrease SVR, decrease VR, decrease in CO) The preferred neuroaxial techniques are (epidural anesthesia and CSE with minimal spinal dose) 2-Avoid PAC. Pulmonary Artery catheters insertion may lead to pulmonary artery rupture or thrombosis. TEE is better cardiac monitor/Arteial line is mandatory. 3-Avoid Nitrous oxide in gas mixture.N2O increase the PVR 4-If MV to be started, avoid High TV and PEEP 5-Avoid Oxytocin Boluses, or rapid administration of Pitocin. Oxytocin causes ...
Post a Comment
Read more