Steroid diabetes
Steroid diabetes is a prolonged hyperglycemia due to glucocorticoid therapy for another medical condition. The most common glucocorticoids which cause steroid diabetes are prednisolone and dexamethasone given systemically in pharmacologic doses for days or weeks.
Steroid diabetes must be distinguished from stress hyperglycemia, hyperglycemia due to excessive intravenous glucose, or new-onset diabetes of another type.
Typical medical conditions in which steroid diabetes arises during high-dose glucocorticoid treatment include severe asthma, organ transplantation, cystic fibrosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and induction chemotherapy for leukemia or other cancers.
Treatment depends on the severity of the hyperglycemia and the estimated duration of the steroid treatment.
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