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Please be aware that this old REACH registration data factsheet is no longer maintained; it remains frozen as of 19th May 2023.

The new ECHA CHEM database has been released by ECHA, and it now contains all REACH registration data. There are more details on the transition of ECHA's published data to ECHA CHEM here.

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Additional information

There are no experimental data on the substance available. All data on ADME are cited in RTECS/HSDB database (Feb 2010):


 


Adsorption/Distribution/Excretion


Following topical application of a corticosteroid to most areas of normal skin, only minimal amounts of the drug reach the dermis and subsequently the systemic circulation; however, absorption is markedly increased when the skin has lost its keratin layer and can be increased by inflammation and/or diseases of the epidermal barrier (e.g., psoriasis, eczema). The drugs are absorbed to a greater degree from the scrotum, axilla, eyelid, face, and scalp than from the forearm, knee, elbow, palm, and sole. Even after washing the area being treated, prolonged absorption of the corticosteroid occurs, possibly because the drug is retained in the stratum corneum. Topical application of corticosteroids to the mucosa of the genitourinary or lower intestinal tract may result in substantial systemic absorption of the drugs. In healthy individuals, as much as 30-90% of rectally administered hydrocortisone as a retention enema may be absorbed.[1]


 


The pharmacokinetics of 20 mg hydrocortisone were studied after IV and oral administration. Endogenous hydrocortisone was suppressed by dexamethasone administration. Hydrocortisone concentrations were measured in plasma and saliva. ... The volume of distribution was 34 L. Oral bioavailability averaged 96%. Absorption was rapid, achieving maximum hydrocortisone levels of 300 ng/mL after 1 hour. Saliva levels were not proportional to plasma levels, but could be shown to reflect free, non-protein bound hydrocortisone concentrations in plasma.[2]


 


Hydrocortisone distribution over the three main components of blood, i.e., plasma water, plasma proteins, and erythrocytes, was studied in vitro at various hydrocortisone concentrations in plasma, in a suspension of washed erythrocytes in plasma water, and in whole blood. The distribution ratio of hydrocortisone in the system of erythrocytes in plasma water was 2.1 when hydrocortisone, 0.18-10.8 ug/mL, was added. In whole blood, however, this ratio was 2.4 for the same concentration range. In the hydrocortisone range of 0.18-0.68 ug/mL of whole blood, the uptake percentage of hydrocortisone by erythrocytes increased from about 16 to 28% of the amount of hydrocortisone added. By adding blank ultrafiltrate to hydrocortisone-enriched blood, it appeared that the erythrocyte fraction released hydrocortisone in overproportional quantities compared with the release by plasma proteins. ... Migration of HC from hydrocortisone-spiked plasma to blank erythrocytes reached an equilibrium within 5 min.[3]


 


 


[1] McEvoy, G.K. (ed.).Formulary Service. AHFS Drug Information. American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 2007.


[2] Derendorf H et al; J Clin Pharmacol 31 (5): 473-6 (1991).


[3] Driessen O et al; Ther Drug Monit 11 (4): 401-7 (1989).