The effectiveness of adding oral corticosteroids to the standard NSAIDs therapy to treat Tietze syndrome
|
Reviewed by Dat Tien Nguyen, B.A, ScM.
Translated by An Duc Thien Le |
Posted on April 19th, 2023
|
Tietze syndrome is hallmarked by the irritation and inflammation of the joint connecting the ribs to the sternum. This leads to pain in the costochondral and sternochondral regions of the chest that can be misdiagnosed for either angina pectoris or myocardial infarction. The condition is frequently treated with over-the-counter pain relievers. A group of researchers had conducted a study with a hypothesis that the addition of corticosteroids can help manage Tietze syndrome.
The randomized controlled trial included 40 patients who were randomly assigned to receive the current standard therapy with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or the addition of prednisolone with the NSAIDs. The NSAIDs treatment was administered for 3 weeks. For the corticosteroid group, in addition to the 3-week NSAIDs therapy, the patients was given 40 mg of prednisolone daily for the 1st week, followed by 20 mg of prednisolone daily for the 2nd week and 10 mg of prednisolone daily for the last week. Subjective assessment of the pain was reported by the patients using the numeric rating scale every week of the study. After six and a half months post 1st treatment, the researchers found that the addition of oral corticosteroid helped reduce 26% more pain than those treated with only NSAIDs. There were relatively little adverse effects reported by the trial participants, with mild gastrointestinal upsets being the most commonly occurred in the corticosteroid group.
The randomized controlled trial included 40 patients who were randomly assigned to receive the current standard therapy with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or the addition of prednisolone with the NSAIDs. The NSAIDs treatment was administered for 3 weeks. For the corticosteroid group, in addition to the 3-week NSAIDs therapy, the patients was given 40 mg of prednisolone daily for the 1st week, followed by 20 mg of prednisolone daily for the 2nd week and 10 mg of prednisolone daily for the last week. Subjective assessment of the pain was reported by the patients using the numeric rating scale every week of the study. After six and a half months post 1st treatment, the researchers found that the addition of oral corticosteroid helped reduce 26% more pain than those treated with only NSAIDs. There were relatively little adverse effects reported by the trial participants, with mild gastrointestinal upsets being the most commonly occurred in the corticosteroid group.