Introduction:

The iatrogenic Cushing syndrome is the result of inadequate, excessive and chronic use of glucocorticoids.

Objectives:

To describe the indications and complications of prolonged corticosteroid therapy, in addition to the clinical and demographic characteristics of the patients who attended the National Hospital in the 2010-2017 period.

Results:

Seventy patients were included, with an average age of 51±16 years (range 18-91 years), of which 40 (57%) were women and 30 (43%) were men. The mean BMI was 28.8 kg/m2.

The corticosteroids used were prednisone (86%) and dexamethasone (14%). Sixty percent was by self-medication and 40% by medical prescription. The indications for the use of corticosteroids were due to immunological diseases (62.86%) and non-immunological diseases (37.14%). The most frequent complication was obesity (97.14%). The mean value of glycated hemoglobin was 6.38±1.67 mg/dL (range 4.6-12.5 mg/dL).

Conclusions:

The most used corticosteroid was prednisone. The predominant use reason was self-medication. The most frequent side effects were obesity, Cushingoid facies and dermatological alterations.

        · resumen en Español     · texto en Español     · Español ( pdf )