| Medication | Oral preparations | Dose | Comments |
| Methylprednisolone | 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 mg tablets | Short-course "burst" for asthma exacerbation: 32 to 48 mg per day as a single dose in the morning for 3 to 10 days; typically 32 mg daily for 5 days. | Short course therapy: - Short courses or "bursts" are effective for establishing control when initiating therapy, during an acute exacerbation or a period of deterioration.
- The burst should be continued until patient achieves substantial symptom improvement or resolution, which is usually associated with PEFR >70 to 80 percent of predicted or personal best. This usually requires 3 to 10 days, but may require longer treatment.
- In patients receiving inhaled glucocorticoids, there is no evidence that tapering the oral dose following improvement prevents relapse.
Long-term control: - Oral glucocorticoids are used only rarely as long-term control medications, eg, in patients with very poorly controlled symptoms despite an optimal treatment regimen and environmental controls.
- The lowest effective dose is given daily in the morning, or on alternate days to minimize adrenal suppression.
|
| Prednisolone* | 5 mg tablets; 10, 15, and 30 mg orally disintegrating tablets (ODT) | Short-course "burst" for asthma exacerbation: 40 to 60 mg per day as single dose in the morning for 3 to 10 days; typically 40 mg daily for 5 days. |
| Prednisone* | 1, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, and 50 mg tablets |
| Dexamethasone* | 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, 4, and 6 mg tablets | Short-course "burst" to achieve symptom control: 6 to 9 mg per day as a single dose in the morning for 3 to 10 days; typically 6 mg daily for 5 days. |
