Addison Disease Medication

  • Author: George T Griffing, MD; Chief Editor: George T Griffing, MD   more...
 
Updated: May 11, 2012
 

Medication Summary

The goals of pharmacotherapy are to reduce morbidity and to prevent complications.

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Corticosteroid

Class Summary

These drugs are used for replacement therapy in Addison disease and secondary adrenocortical insufficiency.[44, 45]

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Prednisone (Deltasone, Sterapred, Orasone)

 

Used for glucocorticoid hormone replacement. Longer acting than hydrocortisone, with a biologic half-life of 18-36 h.

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Fludrocortisone (Florinef)

 

Synthetic adrenocortical steroid with very potent mineralocorticoid activity. For use in Addison disease and states of aldosterone deficiency.

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Hydrocortisone sodium succinate or phosphate (Cortef, Hydrocortone)

 

DOC for steroid replacement in acute adrenal crisis and for daily maintenance in patients with Addison disease or secondary adrenocortical insufficiency. Has both glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid properties. Biologic half-life is 8-12 h. Easiest way to set up infusion is to have pharmacy mix 100 mg of hydrocortisone in 100 mL of 0.9 saline.

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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

George T Griffing, MD  Professor of Medicine, St Louis University School of Medicine

George T Griffing, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Medical Practice Executives, American College of Physician Executives, American College of Physicians, American Diabetes Association, American Federation for Medical Research, American Heart Association, Central Society for Clinical Research, Endocrine Society, International Society for Clinical Densitometry, and Southern Society for Clinical Investigation

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Sylvester Odeke, MD, FACE  Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

Sylvester Odeke, MD, FACE is a member of the following medical societies: American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American College of Endocrinology, and North Carolina Medical Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Steven B Nagelberg, MD  Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Drexel University College of Medicine

Steven B Nagelberg, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American College of Physicians, American Diabetes Association, American Medical Association, Endocrine Society, and Pennsylvania Medical Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Daniel Einhorn, MD, FACP, FACE  Medical Director, Scripps/Whittier Diabetes Institute, Department of Medicine, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California at San Diego School of Medicine

Daniel Einhorn, MD, FACP, FACE is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Physicians, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society of Nuclear Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Medscape Salary Employment

Arthur B Chausmer, MD, PhD, FACP, FACE, FACN, CNS  Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Adj), Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; Affiliate Research Professor, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Program, School of Computational Sciences, George Mason University; Principal, C/A Informatics, LLC

Arthur B Chausmer, MD, PhD, FACP, FACE, FACN, CNS is a member of the following medical societies: American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American College of Endocrinology, American College of Nutrition, American College of Physicians, American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, American Medical Informatics Association, American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, Endocrine Society, and International Society for Clinical Densitometry

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Mark Cooper, MBBS, PhD, FRACP  Head, Diabetes & Metabolism Division, Baker Heart Research Institute, Professor of Medicine, Monash University

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

George T Griffing, MD  Professor of Medicine, St Louis University School of Medicine

George T Griffing, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Medical Practice Executives, American College of Physician Executives, American College of Physicians, American Diabetes Association, American Federation for Medical Research, American Heart Association, Central Society for Clinical Research, Endocrine Society, International Society for Clinical Densitometry, and Southern Society for Clinical Investigation

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Additional Contributors

This chapter is dedicated to the late Dr. James C. Melby.

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