prednisone        (U.S.N.L.M.)
Dosing/ (anterior uveitis) 10-20 mg po bid for 5 days.
May be appropriate when topical steroids and cycloplegia prove inadequate.*
Dosing/ (intermediate
    and posterior uveitis)
Posterior or panuveitis may require higher dosages (up to 30 mg po bid) for longer durations with taper.
(Consider immunomodulators for longer duration therapy.)
Quantities 1, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 50mg tablets
Also available as powders, syrups, and solutions.
Cost 9.58 / 10 tablets /20mg
Class Synthetic precursor to the glucocorticoid prednisolone.
Action Inhibits action of phospholipase preventing formation of arachidonic
acid and subsequent inflammatory mediators.
Short Term Usage A brief (4 to 7 days) course of treatment does not require a taper and rarely
elicits side effects noted below.
*A brief course of systemic medication may be useful when drops fail to control anterior uveitis.
Such failure, however, may signal the need to reevaluate the diagnosis or underlying disease.
Long Term Usage Depending on dose and duration, side effects may include increased infection risk, weight
gain/redistribution, gastrointestinal ulcers or bleeding, osteoporosis, mood alteration/de-
pression/anxiety, mental confusion, insomnia, fluid retention, elevated blood pressure,
elevated blood sugar, atherosclerosis, aseptic necrosis, tuberculosis reactivation, glau-
coma, posterior subcapsular cataract, facial swelling, fatigue, dry mouth, acne, skin rash,
and a substantial additional list of side effects and warnings which can be found on the
package insert.
Adrenal suppression may be expected if prednisone is taken for longer than seven days.
Therefore appropriate taper is required to avoid Addison Crisis.
Contraindications Prednisone tablets are contraindicated in systemic fungal infections.
Pediatric use In addition to growth retardation, adverse effects assumed to be similar to adults.
Used as early as 1 month for serious conditions.
Pregnancy Category C.  Teratogenic in many species in doses equivalent to the human dose.
About 50% of uveitis is idiopathic, 20% trauma, 20% systemic, and 10% local ocular such
as herpes and toxoplasmosis. Mean age of onset is 30.7 years. Most uveitis cases are
anterior uveitis. HLA-B27 related anterior uveitis may need topical treatment for 6 weeks
or longer. Mutton fat KP's with flare is most often associated with systemic infection or
autoimmune disease.
    N.L.M. DailyMed page for prednisone          PDR page for prednisone