Deflazacort is a synthetic steroid that has an anti-inflammatory effect. It is used to decrease inflammation in various different diseases and conditions. Calcort tablets[Deflazacort] contain the active ingredient deflazacort, which is a type of medicine known as a corticosteroid. Corticosteroids are hormones that are produced naturally by the adrenal glands. They have many important functions in the body, including control of inflammatory responses. Corticosteroid medicines are man-made derivatives of the natural hormones. They are often simply called steroids, but it should be noted that they are very different from another group of steroids, called anabolic steroids, which have gained notoriety because of their abuse by some athletes and body builders.
Calcort tablets [Deflazacort] can be used to treat a wide variety of diseases and conditions that require either reduction of inflammation or suppression of the immune system. These include those listed below.
* Severe allergic reactions, eg anaphylaxis.
* Asthma.
* Rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile chronic arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica.
* Inflammatory bowel disease such as Cohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
* Inflammatory disorders of the kidney, such as nephritic syndrome and interstitial nephritis.
* Inflammatory eye disorders, eg uveitis, optic neuritis.
* Inflammatory skin disorders, including pemphigus vulgar is, bullous pemphigoid and pyoderma gangrenous.
* Inflammatory disease of the skin and muscles (dermatomyositis).
* Inflammatory disease called systemic lupus erythematosus, which can affect many organs throughout the body and is caused by the immune system attacking connective tissue in the body.
* Mixed connective tissue disease.
* Rare condition involving inflammation in the walls of arteries (polyarteritis nodosa).
* Sarcoidosis.
* Rheumatic carditis.
* Cancer of the bone marrow (multiple myeloma).
* Acute and lymphatic leukaemia.
* Cancer of the lymph nodes (lymphoma).
* Idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura.
* Anaemia caused by the immune system attacking red blood cells (autoimmune hemolytic anaemia).
* Helping to prevent the immune system attacking a transplanted organ, eg heart, liver, kidney etc .
Deflazacort may decrease the body’s immune response. This means that vaccines may be less effective if given during treatment, because the body does not produce sufficient antibodies. Live vaccines may cause serious infections. Live vaccines include: measles, mumps, rubella, MMR, BCG, chickenpox, oral polio, oral typhoid and yellow fever. These should not be given to people whose immune system is underactive due to treatment with this medicine.
Deflazacort may increase blood sugar levels and so may oppose the blood sugar lowering effects of antidiabetic medicines. People with diabetes may need an increase in their dose of insulin or antidiabetic tablets. Deflazacort may enhance the anti-blood-clotting effect of anticoagulant medicines such as warfarin. People taking anticoagulant medicines in combination with deflazacort should have their blood clotting time (INR) regularly monitored, particularly after starting or stopping treatment with deflazacort and after any dose changes.
If deflazacort is used in combination with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) eg ibuprofen, there may be an increased risk of side effects on the gut, such as stomach ulceration and bleeding. Deflazacort may decrease the blood levels of salicylates such as aspirin