Oral corticosteroid burden
Learn about oral corticosteroid (OCS) burden and access expert-led resources
The overuse of OCS continues despite growing evidence in the literature demonstrating the detrimental long-term effects associated with even a short-term, low-dose course of OCS in severe asthma patients.1
There is an urgent need for a system-wide severe asthma guideline to shift the thinking away from OCS and to ensure primary and secondary care clinicians can confidently recognise and refer people with suspected severe asthma.
The OCS Uncovered summit was a collaborative and systematic effort to generate a series of patient- and clinician-focused initiatives to protect patients with severe asthma from inappropriate OCS use, and to help reduce OCS-related morbidity, lower the risk of OCS-related adverse events and reduce healthcare resource utilisation.
Key insights and outputs from the OCS Uncovered summit are presented below.
OCS Uncovered – Tackling inappropriate OCS usage in severe asthma
OCS Uncovered – Tackling inappropriate OCS usage in severe asthma
This infographic provides an at‑a‑glance summary of the recommendations generated at a summit called: OCS Uncovered – Tackling inappropriate OCS usage in severe asthma. The summit discussed approaches for assessing OCS exposure and OCS-related toxicities in patients and considered practical tools/actions to prevent future OCS-related adverse effects.
NP-GB-ASU-OGM-230003 | April 2025
Watch video resources
Burden of long-term OCS use in severe asthma
Professor Liam Heaney discusses the prevalence rates of morbidities associated with systemic corticosteroid therapy in severe asthma patients, the lifetime costs associated with long-term exposure, as well as healthcare costs to the NHS.
NP-GB-ASU-VID-230002 | April 2025
Adrenal insufficiency associated with long-term OCS use
Professor Mark Gurnell provides valuable insights into the consequences of excess glucocorticoid exposure due to excess OCS use, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction and the clinical features of adrenal insufficiency.
NP-GB-ASU-VID-230003 | April 2025
Asthma and OCS use in primary care
Dr Katherine Hickman discusses the challenges of OCS prescribing, referring, diagnosing and managing patients with sever asthma, the importance of adherence and potential ways to improve patients' experience with severe asthma.
NP-GB-ASU-VID-230004 | April 2025
Oral corticosteroids (OCS) burden CPD module: Tackling inappropriate OCS usage in severe asthma
Completing this module allows you to download a certificate for 1 hour of CPD-accredited learning time.
Please ensure you have watched the above three CPD-certified videos entitled 'Burden of long-term OCS use in severe asthma', 'Adrenal insufficiency associated with long-term OCS use' and 'Asthma and OCS use in primary care' before starting the CPD-certified knowledge questions.
Knowledge questions
QUESTION 1
Overuse of OCS can increase the risk of_________
CORRECT ANSWER
WRONG ANSWER
QUESTION 2
Four courses/year of systemic corticosteroid (SCS) therapy is associated with adverse consequences:
CORRECT ANSWER
WRONG ANSWER
QUESTION 3
Severe asthma __________
CORRECT ANSWER
WRONG ANSWER
QUESTION 4
What are some of the consequences of excess Glucocorticoid exposure?
CORRECT ANSWER
WRONG ANSWER
QUESTION 5
Which of the following are clinical features of adrenal insufficiency ?
CORRECT ANSWER
WRONG ANSWER
Once completed, contact us to receive a CPD certificate
Speakers
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Professor Mark Gurnell Professor Mark Gurnell Professor of Clinical Endocrinology
Mark Gurnell is Professor of Clinical Endocrinology in Cambridge, where he is the Clinical Lead for Endocrine Services. He is Head of Specialty Medicine Research & Training and Sub-Dean in the School of Clinical Medicine at the University of Cambridge. His interests are focused on pituitary, adrenal and thyroid disorders, including acromegaly, Cushing disease, pituitary adenomas, secondary adrenal insufficiency and primary aldosteronism.
He is head of the Cambridge Endocrine Molecular Imaging Group and has led the development of novel PET tracers for imaging pituitary adenomas and adrenocortical tumours, with several now adopted for use in routine clinical practice. He also co-leads the Cambridge Referred Thyroid Function Testing service, which provides advice on the investigation and management of patients with unusual/atypical thyroid function test results.
He serves on several national and international committees including the Council of the UK Society for Endocrinology, the European Society of Endocrinology, the US Endocrine Society’s Endocrine Self-Assessment Programme and the Pituitary Society’s Professional Education Committee. He currently holds several senior national and international appointments in medical education.
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Professor Liam Heaney Professor Liam Heaney Professor of Respiratory Medicine
Liam Heaney is Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Queens University in Belfast, Ireland, who trained in Northern Ireland and the Royal Brompton Hospital in London.
He is Director of the Northern Ireland Regional Difficult Asthma Service, which delivers multidisciplinary systematic assessment, with a particular interest in the identification and management of poor adherence to treatment.
He has chaired the British Thoracic Society (BTS) Specialist Advisory Group for Asthma, the Evidence Review Group for Difficult Asthma for the BTS / Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline on Asthma Management and has been a member of the National Steering Committee for the UK Asthma Guidelines.
He co‑ordinates the UK Severe Asthma Registry and is Academic Lead for the Medical Research Council UK Refractory Stratification Programme. He is extensively published and widely cited on the clinical assessment and management of difficult-to-control asthma in adults.
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Dr Katherine Hickman Dr Katherine Hickman Executive Chair of the Primary Care Respiratory Society
Katherine Hickman qualified from Leeds University in 2000. She originally rotated through Medicine, during which she acquired her MRCP, before settling into general practice. Dr Hickman is a GP Partner in Bradford as well as the Respiratory Lead for West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, Primary Care Lead for the National Asthma and COPD Audit Programme, and Chair of the Primary Care Respiratory Society.
Abbreviations
Reference
- Price DB et al. J Allergy Asthma 2018;11:193–204.
April 2025 | NP-GB-ASU-WCNT-250003 (V1.0)