What should a healthcare provider monitor in a patient taking long-term prednisone?

Monitoring calcium levels in a patient taking long-term prednisone is crucial due to the drug's well-known side effects, particularly its impact on bone health. Prednisone is a corticosteroid that can lead to decreased bone density and increase the risk of osteoporosis. This is primarily because it can interfere with the body’s ability to absorb calcium, as well as promote the excretion of calcium in the urine. Consequently, patients on long-term corticosteroid therapy need to have their calcium levels regularly monitored to mitigate the risk of significant bone loss, fractures, and other complications related to osteoporosis.

In addition to calcium, it's also important to monitor other aspects of health; however, the specific focus here is on the long-term use of prednisone and its direct effect on bone health. Calcium supplementation and lifestyle modifications may be recommended based on these monitoring results to help protect the patient’s skeletal integrity.