Risks Are Associated with Short Courses of Corticosteroids

Although adverse effects of long-term treatment with oral corticosteroids are well described, potential complications of <14-day steroid bursts — commonly used to manage exacerbations of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and dermatologic conditions — are less clear. In this self-controlled case series drawn from insurance claims in Taiwan, researchers evaluated 2.5 million adult patients (age range, 20–64; mean age, 38) to examine risks for severe adverse events after steroid-burst treatment.

Risks for gastrointestinal bleeding, sepsis, and heart failure were significantly higher during the 5 to 30 days after beginning steroid therapy than during the reference period (5–90 days before beginning steroi…