The potency of topical corticosteroids is the amount of drug needed to produce a desired therapeutic effect. The gold standard for determining potency is the vasoconstrictor assay which measures the vasoconstrictive properties based upon cutaneous vasoconstriction.
The United States classification consists of seven classes, with class I superpotent and class VII least potent.
The table below provides a list of some of the topical corticosteroids classified based on their potency. This is useful when selecting topical steroids appropriate for a given skin condition or anatomical site of application.
