Chloroquine and Methylprednisolone Interaction
Drug interaction information between Chloroquine and Methylprednisolone.
Chloroquine and Methylprednisolone have a documented minor interaction in FDA labeling.
FDA drug labeling documents a minor-severity interaction between Chloroquine and Methylprednisolone. Major interactions are generally avoided, moderate ones may need monitoring or a dose adjustment, and minor ones are usually low-risk. This page shows the documented mechanism and guidance. Label-documented interactions are not a complete safety review, so always confirm your own medications with a pharmacist or doctor. Educational information, not medical advice.
How They Interact
Chloroquine is known to cause a blood condition called methemoglobinemia, which makes it harder for your blood to carry oxygen. Taking it with other medications may increase the risk of this blood disorder.
What To Do
Your doctor should monitor you for signs of low oxygen, such as blue-tinted skin or shortness of breath. They may need to perform blood tests to ensure your safety.
FDA Label Information
Examples of Drugs Associated with Methemoglobinemia: Class Examples Nitrates/Nitrites nitric oxide, nitroglycerin, nitroprusside, nitrous oxide Local anesthetics articaine, benzocaine, bupivacaine, lidocaine, mepivacaine, prilocaine, procaine, ropivacaine, tetracaine Antineoplastic agents cyclophosphamide, flutamide, hydroxyurea, isofamide, rasburicase Antibiotics dapsone, nitrofurantoin, para-aminosalicylic acid, sulfonamides Antimalarials chloroquine, primaquine Anticonvulsants phenobarbital, phenytoin, sodium valproate Other drugs acetaminophen, metoclopramide, quinine, sulfasalazine...
Chloroquine Also Interacts With
- Dapsone Topical moderate
- Hydroxychloroquine moderate
- Lidocaine Topical moderate
- Remdesivir moderate
Methylprednisolone Also Interacts With
- Theophylline major
- Aspirin moderate
- Ketoconazole moderate
- Aprepitant moderate
- Clarithromycin moderate
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take Chloroquine and Methylprednisolone together?
This is a minor interaction. Your doctor should monitor you for signs of low oxygen, such as blue-tinted skin or shortness of breath. They may need to perform blood tests to ensure your safety.
How serious is the interaction between Chloroquine and Methylprednisolone?
This interaction is classified as "minor" severity by the FDA. Minor interactions are unlikely to cause significant problems but should still be mentioned to your healthcare provider.
Why do Chloroquine and Methylprednisolone interact?
Chloroquine is known to cause a blood condition called methemoglobinemia, which makes it harder for your blood to carry oxygen. Taking it with other medications may increase the risk of this blood disorder.
Understanding the Chloroquine and Methylprednisolone Interaction
FDA-approved prescribing information for these two drugs flags their combination as a minor-severity interaction. Chloroquine belongs to the Antimalarial class and Methylprednisolone belongs to the Corticosteroid class - two categories that can collide when co-prescribed. The mechanism described in FDA labeling is: Chloroquine is known to cause a blood condition called methemoglobinemia, which makes it harder for your blood to carry oxygen. Severity tiers matter: major flags generally advise avoidance, moderate flags often require monitoring or dose adjustment, and minor flags may only call for awareness.
Context around a specific patient determines real-world impact. Chloroquine has 5 total documented interactions on file in this dataset, and Methylprednisolone has 29. Each additional medication compounds the interaction surface, which is why pharmacists run full-profile checks rather than evaluating one pair at a time. FDA-derived guidance for this pair is: Your doctor should monitor you for signs of low oxygen, such as blue-tinted skin or shortness of breath. Timing of doses, renal and hepatic function, age, and other concurrent prescriptions all shape whether a labeled interaction matters clinically.
An interaction flag is not a verdict. A large share of labeled interactions are managed routinely in clinical practice, the fix may be as simple as spacing doses or adding a monitoring test. Others require the prescriber to choose a different medication entirely. This page surfaces FDA-sourced labeling and openFDA data for educational purposes only; it is not medical advice and cannot account for your full clinical picture. Never start, stop, or adjust either Chloroquine or Methylprednisolone based on a web page, speak with your prescriber or pharmacist before making any change.
Sources: FDA Drug Labels (SPL) via openFDA (2026). This is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider about drug interactions.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.