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Methylprednisolone (Medrol)

Corticosteroidprescriptionoral · inferred

Intermediate-acting glucocorticoid with ~5x potency of hydrocortisone. Bioavailability ~82-88%; more predictable linear PK than prednisone with concentrations proportional to dose. Short plasma half-life (1.9-2.5 hours) but longer biologic duration. Minimal first-pass effect compared to oral route; metabolized hepatically. Used for inflammatory, autoimmune diseases, GI disorders, allergy. Predictable kinetics facilitate dosing adjustments.

Projected serum levels — 16 mg, once daily

Methylprednisolone (Medrol)
Methylprednisolone (Medrol) modeled serum levels, 16 mg once daily over 15 days Population-based pharmacokinetic estimate. Steady state reached after approximately 1 days. 0 2.5 5 7.5 10 Day 0 Day 4 Day 8 Day 11 Day 15 Time on a regular schedule ≈ steady state · day 1

Maintenance schedule: 16 mg once daily (oral).

Modeled steady state after ~1 days: peak ≈ 8.0 mg, trough ≈ 0.025 mg body load. Population-based estimate over 15 days for a 16 mg dose at a 70 kg reference body mass — the interactive app scales curves to your doses, timing, and body mass.

Key facts

Category
Corticosteroid
Route modeled
Oral
Model confidence
inferred
Half-life
2.5 h
Common dose
16 mg
Suggested maximum
60 mg/day
Reference dose range
4–60 mg (single dose)
Suggested cadence
once daily
Validated against
16 mg oral — Cmax 0.30 mg/L at 2 h

Documented interactions

  • contraindicated
    Clarithromycin (Biaxin) + Methylprednisolone (Medrol) CYP inhibition

    Clarithromycin (Biaxin) mechanism_based of CYP3A4 predicted to change Methylprednisolone (Medrol) AUC by ~5.14x

  • contraindicated
    Diltiazem + Methylprednisolone (Medrol) CYP inhibition

    Diltiazem mechanism_based of CYP3A4 predicted to change Methylprednisolone (Medrol) AUC by ~5.14x

  • contraindicated
    Efavirenz (Sustiva) + Methylprednisolone (Medrol) CYP induction

    Efavirenz (Sustiva) inducer of CYP3A4 predicted to change Methylprednisolone (Medrol) AUC by ~0.14x

  • contraindicated
    Grapefruit (whole fruit) + Methylprednisolone (Medrol) CYP inhibition

    Grapefruit (whole fruit) mechanism_based of CYP3A4 predicted to change Methylprednisolone (Medrol) AUC by ~5.14x

  • contraindicated
    Grapefruit Juice + Methylprednisolone (Medrol) CYP inhibition

    Grapefruit Juice mechanism_based of CYP3A4 predicted to change Methylprednisolone (Medrol) AUC by ~5.14x

  • contraindicated
    Paxlovid (Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir) + Methylprednisolone (Medrol) CYP inhibition

    Paxlovid (Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir) mechanism_based of CYP3A4 predicted to change Methylprednisolone (Medrol) AUC by ~5.14x

Serum checks 294 modeled interaction pairings for methylprednisolone (medrol) across your whole stack — absorption conflicts, enzyme inhibition, and nutrient depletion included.

Research behind this entry

  1. Pharmacokinetics of methylprednisolone after intravenous and oral administration Al-Habet SM et al. · British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 1989 DOI

    Study showing IV methylprednisolone half-life 1.93±0.35 h, bioavailability ~88% oral, linear dose-proportional kinetics without time dependency; clearance 0.45±0.12 L/h/kg.

  2. Pharmacokinetics of methylprednisolone and prednisolone after single and multiple oral administration Rohatagi S et al. · Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 1997 DOI

    RCT in 24 healthy men showing linear methylprednisolone PK across doses 1-80 mg; bioavailability 82±11%, no accumulation on repeated dosing, predictable concentration-dose relationship.

  3. Influence of route of administration on the pharmacokinetics of methylprednisolone Frey BM et al. · Journal of Pharmacokinetics and Biopharmaceutics, 1984 DOI

    Comparative study showing IV and IM bioavailability equivalent; oral route shows lower extent due to first-pass effect but still maintains ~88% bioavailability and linear kinetics.

3 published studies referenced in the app, each with a plain-language summary.