Skip to content
Independent analysis of NHS open data
PharmaInsight

Dexamethasone vs Prednisolone

National NHS prescribing compared (Prescription Cost Analysis)
Data updated April 2026

Prednisolone was dispensed 27.4× as often as Dexamethasone in April 2026 — 487,887 items versus 17,803 in England.

17,803items

Dexamethasone · April 2026

NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis

487,887items

Prednisolone · April 2026

NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis

Figure 1. Dexamethasone versus Prednisolone: national items dispensed by month

▬ Dexamethasone   ·   ╌ Prednisolone

0 393k 786k Jan 2021 Nov 2021 Sep 2022 Jul 2023 May 2024 Mar 2025 Apr 2026 Prednisolone 17,803 Jan 2021: 18k Feb 2021: 16k Mar 2021: 19k Apr 2021: 18k May 2021: 20k Jun 2021: 21k Jul 2021: 20k Aug 2021: 18k Sep 2021: 19k Oct 2021: 20k Nov 2021: 20k Dec 2021: 20k Jan 2022: 18k Feb 2022: 17k Mar 2022: 20k Apr 2022: 18k May 2022: 20k Jun 2022: 20k Jul 2022: 21k Aug 2022: 18k Sep 2022: 19k Oct 2022: 22k Nov 2022: 22k Dec 2022: 23k Jan 2023: 19k Feb 2023: 18k Mar 2023: 20k Apr 2023: 16k May 2023: 18k Jun 2023: 17k Jul 2023: 17k Aug 2023: 17k Sep 2023: 17k Oct 2023: 19k Nov 2023: 21k Dec 2023: 20k Jan 2024: 20k Feb 2024: 19k Mar 2024: 19k Apr 2024: 18k May 2024: 19k Jun 2024: 17k Jul 2024: 19k Aug 2024: 17k Sep 2024: 18k Oct 2024: 22k Nov 2024: 22k Dec 2024: 22k Jan 2025: 20k Feb 2025: 17k Mar 2025: 19k Apr 2025: 17k May 2025: 18k Jun 2025: 17k Jul 2025: 17k Aug 2025: 15k Sep 2025: 18k Oct 2025: 21k Nov 2025: 21k Dec 2025: 24k Jan 2026: 21k Feb 2026: 19k Mar 2026: 20k Apr 2026: 18k

Source: NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis, to April 2026

Dexamethasone versus Prednisolone, April 2026
Measure Dexamethasone Prednisolone
Items, April 2026 17,803 487,887
Items, last 12 months 229,084 6,103,909
Net ingredient cost, April 2026 £104,087 £1,232,132

See the full profile for Dexamethasone or Prednisolone.