Steroid Conversion Calculator

It converts a glucocorticoid dose to its anti-inflammatory equivalent in another glucocorticoid using standard equipotent doses anchored to hydrocortisone 20 mg. The math is a single ratio: equivalent dose equals your dose times the target drug's equivalent dose divided by the source drug's equivalent dose. For example, prednisone 5 mg, methylprednisolone 4 mg, and dexamethasone 0.75 mg all carry roughly the same anti-inflammatory effect, so 40 mg of prednisone converts to 32 mg of methylprednisolone (40 times 4 divided by 5).

It uses the most widely cited equipotent anti-inflammatory doses: hydrocortisone 20 mg, cortisone 25 mg, prednisone 5 mg, prednisolone 5 mg, methylprednisolone 4 mg, triamcinolone 4 mg, dexamethasone 0.75 mg, and betamethasone 0.6 mg. These come from standard references such as UpToDate and the Liu 2013 corticosteroid guide. Different sources round these values slightly differently, so treat the output as an approximation rather than an exact figure.

Glucocorticoid equivalency only matches anti-inflammatory potency. It ignores mineralocorticoid (salt-retaining) activity, which controls fluid balance and blood pressure and varies sharply between drugs. Hydrocortisone and cortisone retain a lot of salt, prednisone and prednisolone retain some, and dexamethasone, betamethasone, and triamcinolone retain almost none. Switching from a salt-retaining steroid to one with no mineralocorticoid effect can leave a gap in that activity, so the calculator flags those conversions.

No. The conversion is based on anti-inflammatory potency, not on how long each drug acts. Hydrocortisone and cortisone are short-acting, prednisone, prednisolone, methylprednisolone, and triamcinolone are intermediate-acting, and dexamethasone and betamethasone are long-acting. The calculator reports the duration class of each drug for context, but two equivalent doses can still differ in dosing frequency and how strongly they suppress the body's own cortisol production.

These factors are for systemic (oral or intravenous) glucocorticoids interchanged on an anti-inflammatory basis. Intravenous and oral doses of the same drug are treated as equivalent in milligrams here, but inhaled and topical steroids are dosed by local potency and delivery and do not map to these systemic equivalents. Do not use this tool to convert between routes for those products.

No. This tool is for general education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Corticosteroid conversions depend on the patient, the condition, the route, tapering needs, and mineralocorticoid coverage, and getting a steroid dose wrong can be dangerous. Always confirm any dose with a qualified prescriber or pharmacist before acting on it.