Introduction
obesity, arrhythmia, Cushing’s syndrome, pain, cataracts, sepsis, granulomatous thyroiditis
OBESITY, ARRHYTHMIA, SUBACUTE THYROIDITIS, DE QUERVAIN THYROIDITIS, THYROID, GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING, ULCERS, HYPERGLYCEMIA, REMISSION, CATARACTS, SEPSIS, INFLAMMATORY DISEASE, OSTEOPOROSIS, GRANULOMATOUS THYROIDITIS
Subacute thyroiditis (SAT), also known as granulomatous thyroiditis or de Quervain thyroiditis, is an inflammatory disease of the thyroid gland and the most common cause of pain in the thyroid gland [The American Thyroid Association (ATA) and Chinese Society of Endocrinology (CSE) recommend the use of glucocorticoids for rapid symptom relief when NSAIDs treatment is ineffective (absence of symptom remission after 2–3 days of treatment) or when the patients initially present with moderate-to-severe pain (based on the physician decision to relieve the pain immediately) [There are various short-term and long-term side effects of glucocorticoids on multiple organs, such as hyperglycemia, Cushing’s syndrome, obesity, arrhythmia, gastrointestinal bleeding or ulcers, osteoporosis, cataracts, and sepsis [Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of using a low initial dose of PSL (15 mg/d) with a standard initial dose of PSL (30 mg/d) in SAT patients who were unresponsive to NSAIDs or had moderate-to-severe pain.