Male infertility and avascular necrosis of the femoral head.

Corticosteroids are an important part of the pharmacological armamentarium against a wide spectrum of diseases. They are powerful drugs that effect all aspects of human metabolism and, although often life-saving, they have a plethora of important side-effects and a narrow therapeutic window. Most side-effects are well known to physicians but we would like to highlight the problem of avascular necrosis associated with cyclical steroid therapy of short duration using moderate doses for an unusual indication.