Adrenal suppression

Adrenal insufficiency secondary to corticosteroid treatment has a generally good prognosis. Time to recovery depends on dose and/or potency of glucocorticoid used, and treatment length. Signs and symptoms of Cushing syndrome will disappear with time as the inciting medication is stopped.

Adrenal insufficiency

With care and persistence, most patients are able to recover adrenal function and permanently discontinue corticosteroid therapy. In addition, patients who have had adrenal suppression may have enough partial recovery or adrenal reserve to sustain their daily basal needs. However, they may not have enough adrenal reserve to surmount any encountered severe stress, such as systemic infections, injury, or surgery. Therefore, patients must be reminded to inform medical personnel of prolonged corticosteroid intake in the past few months, because they may need stress-dose corticosteroids during these events, followed by a rapid taper to physiologic doses and discontinuation within 1 week if possible.