Survey of mixing commercially available corticosteroid ointments with other ointments and the anti-inflammatory activity of the admixtures

We surveyed the prescriptions from the Department of Dermatology in a city hospital to determine the status of the use of admixtures of corticosteroid ointments with other ointments. Thirty percent of the prescriptions of topical ointment therapy for outpatients of the Department were for admixture ointments. They were prescribed for patients aged 2 months to over 90 years. The mixing ratios of corticosteroid ointments with other ointments were 1 : 1 to 5 : 3. One-to-one dilution was most frequently used. Corticosteroid ointments classified into strongest, very strong, strong and medium groups were used for admixtures. We studied the effect of admixture ointments on carrageenan-induced edema in rat hind paws to assess the anti-inflammatory activity of these admixtures. Dermovate™, its 1 : 3-diluted preparation with white petrolatum and 1 : 1-diluted preparation of Lidomex™ with white petrolatum exerted significant anti-inflammatory activity (p<0.05, compared with white petrolatum). These results suggest that the admixtures of different corticosteroid ointments have different anti-inflammatory activities. When admixture preparations are used, the properties of the corticosteroid and other ointments should be taken into account individually.