High-dose glucocorticoid therapy for treatment
Of rheumatoid arthritis remains highly controversial. It is widely agreed that it is highly effective in controlling acute rheumatoid inflammation, but it may also result in significant adverse effects. Complications of high-dose glucocorticoid therapy include which of the following?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

High-dose glucocorticoid therapy can suppress the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, leading to adrenal insufficiency when the therapy is stopped abruptly.  High-dose exogenous glucocorticoids suppress the adrenal neuroendocrine axis. Patients treated for longer than 2 weeks need to be tapered off glucocorticoids slowly to avoid adrenal insufficiency. Other complications of high-dose glucocorticoids include growth suppression in children and volume overload. Hyperkalemia and hyponatremia are observed in adrenal insufficiency due to loss of mineralocorticoid effects and are not relevant to glucocorticoid therapy.

High-Dose Glucocorticoid Therapy for Treatment