CORTISOL and its derivatives are effective and necessary in the management of some patients with certain diseases, but their prolonged use may be associated with undesirable side effects ranging from minor and annoying ones to life-threatening reactions. The incidence of undesirable side effects varies from series to series, but the general consensus is that these effects are related to dosage and duration of therapy. Livingstone and Davies¹ have reviewed their experience with steroids in asthma, which parallels in general our own previous experience.

Since the therapeutic effects of steroids appeared to us to persist longer than their metabolic effects, it . . .