ATC Group: S02BA Corticosteroids

The World Health Organization's ATC classification organizes medical drugs based on therapeutic properties, chemical composition, and anatomy. It helps make essential medicines readily available globally and is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry.

Position of S02BA in the ATC hierarchy

Level Code Title
1 S Sensory organs
2 S02 Otologicals
3 S02B Corticosteroids
4 S02BA Corticosteroids

Group S02BA contents

Code Title
S02BA01 Hydrocortisone
S02BA03 Prednisolone
S02BA06 Dexamethasone
S02BA07 Betamethasone
S02BA08

Active ingredients in S02BA

Active Ingredient Description
Betamethasone

Betamethasone is a glucocorticoid which is about eight to ten times as active as prednisolone on a weight-for-weight basis. Betamethasone has anti-inflammatory, antipruritic, and vasoconstrictive properties.

Dexamethasone

Dexamethasone is a synthetic glucocorticoid; it combines high anti-inflammatory effects with low mineralocorticoid activity. It has an approximately 7 times greater anti-inflammatory potency than prednisolone, another commonly prescribed corticosteroid. At high doses it reduces the immune response.

Fluocinolone

Fluocinolone acetonide is a synthetic fluorinated corticosteroid with anti-inflammatory, antipruritic, and vasoconstrictive properties.

Hydrocortisone

Hydrocortisone is the main glucocorticoid secreted by the adrenal cortex. Hydrocortisone is an anti-inflammatory steroid. Its anti-inflammatory action is due to reduction in the vascular component of the inflammatory response and reduction in the formation of inflammatory fluid and cellular exudates.

Prednisolone

Prednisolone is a glucocorticoid which has anti-inflammatory activity. Naturally occurring glucocorticoids (hydrocortisone and cortisone), which also have salt-retaining properties, are used as replacement therapy in adrenocortical deficiency states. Their synthetic analogs are primarily used for their potent anti-inflammatory effects in disorders of many organ systems.

Related product monographs

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