Percutaneous Absorption of Corticosteroids

Abstract

SINCE 19521 the corticosteroids have held an unrivaled position among medications used for the topical treatment of various skin diseases and have come to be employed extensively for clinical purposes with little fear of the sequelae that follow systemic administration of the steroids. The possibility that these substances could be percutaneously absorbed was considered soon after they came into use,2 but in several investigations3 4 5 6 7 8 no definitive evidence of such absorption was found. Gradually, however, data have accumulated indicating that the steroids can be absorbed through the skin. In one early investigation9 application of hydrocortisone to the skin surface slightly increased . . .