Iatrogenic Cushing\'s Syndrome Due to Cutaneous Corticosteroid Therapy

Summary A case of Cushing' s syndrome associated with application of topical clobetasol propionate (0.05%) is reported. Local application of clobetasol propionate is associated with adrenal suppression in normal subjects and on this basis, it has been recommended that less than 50 g per week be used. There have been sporadic case reports of cushing's syndrome associated with topical steroid but in all cases the amount applied was greater than 100 g per week, which would be considered excessive by present day guidelines. We report a well-documented example of this rare complication of the use of topical corticosteroid.