Drug interactions
Hydrocortisone + Sodium sulfate / potassium chloride / magnesium sulfate / polyethylene glycol
Severity: Moderate
Hydrocortisone and Sodium sulfate / potassium chloride / magnesium sulfate / polyethylene glycol: 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
Both can lower serum potassium: the bowel preparation through fluid and electrolyte losses, and hydrocortisone through mineralocorticoid effects. Together they may cause clinically relevant hypokalemia, particularly in patients with cardiac disease or on other potassium-lowering drugs.
What this interaction means in plain words
Hydrocortisone and Sodium sulfate / potassium chloride / magnesium sulfate / polyethylene glycol 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 potassium loss from gastrointestinal fluid loss and renal potassium wasting from corticosteroid mineralocorticoid activity.
What to do
Check serum potassium and other electrolytes beforehand in at-risk patients and correct any deficit. Ensure adequate hydration and repeat monitoring if symptoms or prolonged steroid use apply.
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?
Pro+ members
Unlock the full page
Create an account and start a Pro+ trial to unlock the full management advice for Hydrocortisone and Sodium sulfate / potassium chloride / magnesium sulfate / polyethylene glycol, the additional notes, the evidence detail and the whole-prescription interaction checker.
- Full clinical management advice
- Additional notes
- Evidence detail
- Interaction checker for a whole prescription
Try Pro+ free for 7 days on the web. No card needed.
Other interactions of Hydrocortisone
- Hydrocortisone + Mifepristone Contraindicated
- Hydrocortisone + Poliovirus vaccine live oral trivalent Contraindicated
- Hydrocortisone + Smallpox vaccine live Contraindicated
- Adenovirus types 4 and 7 live + Hydrocortisone Major
- Aldesleukin + Hydrocortisone Major
- Aspirin + Hydrocortisone Major
Frequently asked questions
Can I take Hydrocortisone with Sodium sulfate / potassium chloride / magnesium sulfate / polyethylene glycol?
MediHelp rates the interaction as moderate. Hydrocortisone and Sodium sulfate / potassium chloride / magnesium sulfate / polyethylene glycol 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. Both can lower serum potassium: the bowel preparation through fluid and electrolyte losses, and hydrocortisone through mineralocorticoid effects. Together they may cause clinically relevant hypokalemia, particularly in patients with cardiac disease or on other potassium-lowering drugs.
How serious is the interaction between Hydrocortisone and Sodium sulfate / potassium chloride / magnesium sulfate / polyethylene glycol?
MediHelp rates it moderate, on a four-level scale (minor, moderate, major, contraindicated) based on published labels and references. What to do, in brief: Check serum potassium and other electrolytes beforehand in at-risk patients and correct any deficit. Ensure adequate hydration and repeat monitoring if symptoms or prolonged steroid use apply.
What other medicines interact with Hydrocortisone?
MediHelp also lists interactions of Hydrocortisone with, for example, Mifepristone, Poliovirus vaccine live oral trivalent, Smallpox vaccine live. The full list is on the Hydrocortisone page.
Full monographs, dosing and an interaction checker in the MediHelp app
Open the complete reference, check multi-drug interactions and use dosing tools in the MediHelp app.
