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Pharmacokinetics

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Corticosteroids travel in the plasma freely and bound to albumin and corticosteroid binding globulin (CBG). The latter has an affinity only for endogenous compounds and carries the majority of corticosteroid under physiological conditions.

The half life of corticosteroids is dependent on their structure and the need for prior activation e.g. prednisone to prednisolone:

  • cortisone 0.5 hours
  • hydrocortisone 1.5 hours
  • prednisolone 3 hours
  • dexamethasone 4 hours

Excretion is renally after reduction of the C3 ketone and then substitution with a sulphate or glucuronic acid group.

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