Friend or foe: What to consider when using corticosteroids
21 Nov 2025
RVC Equine Theatre 1
Equine
,
Internal Medicine
Corticosteroids are one of the most important groups of drugs in our arsenal as equine vets. However, their wide reaching anti-inflammatory activity can also give rise to significant adverse effects. Appropriate patient selection and risk assessment is therefore essential for their safe use. This talk explores how corticosteroids work, how to choose the right steroid for the job, and when their use may cause more harm than good.
- Outline key mechanisms of action of corticosteroids and how they are regulated.
- Describe the major physiological and pharmacological effects of glucocorticoids within the body.
- Identify significant adverse effects of glucocorticoids, and how they may manifest clinically in horses.
- Evaluate individual patient risk factors to determine whether corticosteroid therapy is appropriate.
- Assess pharmacologic properties of different corticosteroids to aid drug selection for your patient.
- Apply principles of corticosteroid use to common clinical scenarios in equine medicine.
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