Clobetasol propionate is a corticosteroid used to treat skin conditions such as eczema, contact dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis, and psoriasis. It is applied to the skin as a cream, ointment, or shampoo. Use should be short term and only if other weaker corticosteroids are not effective. Use is not recommended in rosacea or perioral dermatitis.Common side effects include skin irritation, dry skin, redness, pimples, and telangiectasia. Serious side effects may include adrenal suppression, allergic reactions, cellulitis, and Cushings syndrome. Use in pregnancy and breastfeeding is of unclear safety. Clobetasol is believed to work by activating steroid receptors. It is a US Class I (Europe: class IV) corticosteroid, making it one of the strongest available. Clobetasol propionate was patented in 1968 and came into medical use in 1978. It is available as a generic medication. In 2019, it was the 180th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 3 million prescriptions. Medical uses
Clobetasol propionate is used for the treatment of various skin disorders including eczema, herpes labialis, psoriasis, and lichen sclerosus. It is also used to treat several auto-immune diseases including alopecia areata, lichen planus (auto immune skin nodules), and mycosis fungoides (T-cell skin lymphoma). It is used as first-line treatment for both acute and chronic GVHD of the skin.Clobetasol propionate is used cosmetically for skin whitening, although this use is controversial. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved it for that purpose, and sales without a prescription are illegal in the U.S.
Clinical significance
Infection of the urethra is urethritis, which often causes purulent urethral discharge. It is most often due to a sexually transmitted infection such as gonorrhoea or chlamydia, and less commonly due to other bacteria such as ureaplasma or mycoplasma; trichomonas vaginalis; or the viruses herpes simplex virus and adenovirus. Investigations such as a gram stain of the discharge might reveal the cause; nucleic acid testing based on the first urine sample passed in a day, or a swab of the urethra sent for bacterial culture and sensitivity may also be used. Treatment usually involves antibiotics that treat both gonorrhoea and chlamydia, as these often occur together. A person being treated for urethritis should not have sex until the infection is treated, so that they do not spread the infection to others. Because of this spread, which may occur during an incubation period before a person gets symptoms, there is often contact tracing so that sexual partners of an affected person can be found and treatment offered.Cancer can also develop in the lining of the urethra. When cancer is present, the most common symptom in an affected person is blood in the urine; a physical medical examination may be otherwise normal, except in late disease. Cancer of the urethra is most often due to cancer of the cells lining the urethra, called transitional cell carcinoma, although it can more rarely occur as a squamous cell carcinoma if the type of cells lining the urethra have changed, such as due to a chronic schistosomiasis infection.