Drug interactions
Cortisone + Indomethacin
Severity: Moderate
Cortisone and Indomethacin: moderate interaction.
Last updated
For healthcare professionals — reference only. This page is a brief summary, not medical advice and not a substitute for official labeling or clinical judgement. Always verify before prescribing or dispensing.
Summary
Corticosteroids combined with NSAIDs increase the risk of peptic ulceration and gastrointestinal bleeding. Corticosteroids can also cause fluid retention that adds to the NSAID effect.
What this interaction means in plain words
Cortisone and Indomethacin can affect each other. The combination is often manageable, but it may need a change of dose, a change of timing, or extra checks while both are taken.
Why it happens
Additive gastric mucosal injury from prostaglandin inhibition by the NSAID and impaired mucosal healing from corticosteroids.
What to do
Use gastroprotection with a proton pump inhibitor in at-risk patients and keep the duration of both as short as possible. Monitor for GI symptoms and bleeding.
What to ask your pharmacist
- Should I take them at different times of day?
- Does the dose of either medicine need to change?
- Is there anything I should avoid, such as alcohol or certain foods, while on both?
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Other interactions of Indomethacin
- Indomethacin + Ketorolac Contraindicated
- Indomethacin + Ketorolac intranasal Contraindicated
- Aceclofenac + Indomethacin Major
- Acemetacin + Indomethacin Major
- Acetylsalicylic acid + Indomethacin Major
- Alteplase + Indomethacin Major
Frequently asked questions
Can I take Cortisone with Indomethacin?
MediHelp rates the interaction as moderate. Cortisone and Indomethacin can affect each other. The combination is often manageable, but it may need a change of dose, a change of timing, or extra checks while both are taken. Corticosteroids combined with NSAIDs increase the risk of peptic ulceration and gastrointestinal bleeding. Corticosteroids can also cause fluid retention that adds to the NSAID effect.
How serious is the interaction between Cortisone and Indomethacin?
MediHelp rates it moderate, on a four-level scale (minor, moderate, major, contraindicated) based on published labels and references. What to do, in brief: Use gastroprotection with a proton pump inhibitor in at-risk patients and keep the duration of both as short as possible. Monitor for GI symptoms and bleeding.
What other medicines interact with Indomethacin?
MediHelp also lists interactions of Indomethacin with, for example, Ketorolac, Ketorolac intranasal, Aceclofenac. The full list is on the Indomethacin page.
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