Corticosteroids
Medication class detail with safety cues and nursing action focus.
RespiratoryEndocrineIntegumentary / Burns / Woundsneeds review
Corticosteroids
Examples: prednisone, methylprednisolone, fluticasone, hydrocortisone
Mechanism
Suppresses inflammation and immune activity; systemic use affects glucose, infection risk, and adrenal response.
Used for
- Asthma/COPD inflammation
- Autoimmune flares
- Adrenal support
- Skin inflammation
Side effects
- Hyperglycemia
- Infection risk
- Fluid retention
- Mood change
- Skin thinning with topical overuse
Nursing actions
- Monitor glucose, infection signs, and GI protection needs.
- Teach not to stop long-term systemic steroids abruptly.
- For inhaled steroids, rinse mouth to reduce thrush risk.
Hold / question cues
- Untreated systemic infection concern
- Severe hyperglycemia per order
- Adrenal crisis symptoms after abrupt stop
Antidote / reversal
- No routine class-specific antidote or reversal agent is seeded for this class; hold/question unsafe doses, support ABCs, notify the provider, and use facility or poison-control guidance for toxicity.
NCLEX pearl
- Steroids cool inflammation but can hide infection and raise sugar.