Topical steroid withdrawal is a debated entity among clinicians1. It has received increasing attention in the media and has contributed to concerns regarding the use of topical corticosteroids. The epidemiology of this is an active area of research.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) maintains the Database of Adverse Event Notifications (DAEN)2, which contains data regarding reported adverse events by clinicians, patients and pharmaceutical companies in Australia2. A review of the database regarding the outcome of topical steroid withdrawal was performed and the findings summarized.
As of 23 May 2024, a search specifically for “topical steroid withdrawal” yielded 15 reported cases from 18 January 2022 to 29 January 2024. Of these cases, 1 was not reported to be associated with topical steroids and another was a likely duplicate (identical age, medication reported, and numerous adverse symptoms).
Within the remaining 13 cases, the ages of patients ranged between <1 year to 44 years. There were twice as many female patients (8) as there were male patients (4). Strengths of corticosteroids including weak to strong potency. Methylprednisolone aceponate was the most commonly reported corticosteroid, with it being used in 8 cases. Commonly reported symptoms included insomnia, burning sensation of skin pruritus. A patient <1 year old was reported to have failure to thrive, poor feeding, pyrexia and weight loss.
Whilst a limitation of information within this database is its heterogenous source, it provides insights to the demographics of patients reported to be suffering from this controversial condition and the symptoms experienced.