Participants and characteristics at baseline
TB, pain
RECURRENCE
A total of 67 SAT patients underwent eligibility screening. Seven patients failed the screening, and 60 patients were randomized into two groups with 30 patients in each group. During the treatment, 1 participant in the experimental group withdrew from the study due to personal reasons while 3 participants in the control group withdrew from the study due to personal reasons, and 1 participant was lost to follow-up. Furthermore, there were 5 patients in the experimental group and 3 patients in the control group who were lost to follow-up after discontinuation (Flowchart of the randomized controlled trial.In the experimental group, the majority of patients (more than 80%) reduced dose in the following sequence: 15 mg/d–10 mg/d–5 mg/d–withdrawal, while the minority of patients reduced dose from 15 mg/d to 5 mg/d directly or from 5 mg/d to 2.5 mg/d and then withdrawal. In the control group, half of the patients received an initial dose of 30 mg/d followed by a reduction of 5 mg each time. The other half received an initial dose of 30 mg/d and then reduced to 20 mg/d directly, followed by a reduction of 5 mg or 10 mg each time. The actual reduction process of PSL for patients with and without recurrence for both groups was described in The mean age of patients was 49.84 ± 11.89 years, and 33.33% of them were male. The median self-reported pain score (VAS) was 7. There were no significant differences between the experimental group and control group for demographic characteristics, pretreatment with NSAIDs, pain in the thyroid gland, vital signs, or laboratory parameters at baseline (Baseline characteristics of the study participants.Values were presented as mean ± standard deviation for normally distributed variables, median (interquartile range) for non-normal data, or number (percentage) for categorical variable.SD: standard deviation; NSAIDs: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; VAS: visual analogue scale.Biochemical parameters of participants at baseline.Values were presented as mean ± standard deviation for normally distributed variables, median (interquartile range) for non-normal data.TT3: total triiodothyronine; TT4: total thyroxine; TSH: thyroid stimulating hormone; FT3: free triiodothyronine; FT4: free thyroxine; TPOAb: anti-thyroid peroxidase; TRAb: thyrotrophin receptor antibody; CRP: C-reactive protein; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; HB: hemoglobin; RBC: red blood cell count; WBC: white blood cell count; PLT: platelet count; AST: aminotransferase; ALT: alanine transaminase; ALP: alkaline phosphatase; TB: total bilirubin; SCr: serum creatinine; BUN: blood urea nitrogen; FBG: fasting blood-glucose.