MEDizzy - A 55-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of

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Corticosteroids and Antagonists

A 55-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of increasing muscle weakness, anxiety, and loss of emotional control. The patient was diagnosed with polymyositis 5 months ago and had been receiving an appropriate therapy since then. Physical examination showed a patient with face and trunk obesity and thin and easily bruised skin. Vital signs were blood pressure 168/98 m m Hg, pulse 84 bpm , respirations 18/m in. A bone x-ray revealed di use osteoporosis. Which of the following drugs most likely caused the patient’s signs and symptoms?

Explanationd The patient’s signs and symptom s indicate that she was suffering from Cushing syndrome, most likely due to high-dose glucocorticoid therapy. Polymyositis is a chronic autoimmune disease of unknown cause characterized by inflammatory and degenerative changes in the muscles. High-dose glucocorticoid is usually the treatment of choice. Drugs with high potency and negligible salt-retaining activity, such as dexamethasone, are com m only the preferred agents.