Short-term corticosteroid therapy (i.e., a few days or weeks) may be quickly stopped without risk.
Long-term therapies must be stopped more gradually in order to minimize the risk of adrenal insufficiency. The dose and duration of treatment will determine the pace at which treatment is stopped. There is no standard timetable. Some consider that reducing the cortisone dose by 10% every 10-15 days is a suitable guideline for discontinuation of use. Furthermore, when patients are receiving very low doses of corticosteroids, some doctors substitute hydrocortisone instead. These steps could reduce the risk of adrenal insufficiency although this has never been specifically proven.