Inhaled steroids and steroid treatment cards

High doses of inhaled steroids and steroid treatment cards

People using prolonged high doses of inhaled steroids should routinely be provided with steroid treatment cards. High doses of steroids include:

• people on 'off-label' high doses of inhaled steroids
• people who receive a combination of maximum licensed dose of inhaled steroid and other steroids (such as oral steroids)
• people who use inhaled corticosteroids together with medication which inhibit their metabolism e.g. - cytochrome P450 inhibitors (HIV protease inhibitors)
• other high risk people (at the discretion of the prescriber/pharmacist) (1)

People who have inadequate control of the disease despite receiving maximal inhaled corticosteroid therapy and additional other therapies should be referred to a specialist (1).

Reference:

1. 1. MHRA. High dose inhaled steroids: new advice on supply of steroid treatment cards. Current Problems in Pharmacovigilence 2006;31