About The Webinar
Glucocorticoids are potent drugs with widespread systemic effects. They are widely used in clinical practice and form an essential part of the medicine cabinet for dogs with neurological conditions. They are clearly beneficial in many disease, forming the mainstay of treatment for immune-mediated conditions affecting the central nervous system and the neuromuscular system. In these cases, it is crucial to use the appropriate dose in such cases and to taper the dose in a timely manner to avoid excessive side effects; in many cases, ancillary immunosuppressive agents are also used, to bring about and/or maintain remission, whilst reducing the adverse effects.
In practice, steroids are often used before undertaking diagnostic tests. Whilst this can be a reasonable approach, it often makes it more difficult to reach a definitive diagnosis and can also expose patients to damaging side effects in conditions in which there is either scant evidence of benefit – or even the possibility of harm. In this webinar, we will consider how steroids work and will review those conditions in which they are the right choice. We will also consider diseases in which they are of dubious benefit and those in which they are contraindicated and therefore best avoided.
