A Way to Offer Relief for Sore Throat

Many people find the pain from a sore throat one of the most troublesome symptoms of a cold, the flu, or bacterial infections like strep throat. Now, Mayo Clinic researchers believe they have found a way to offer some relief: treatment with steroids to reduce the inflammation that causes much of the pain.

In a study published in Laryngoscope, researchers report on the use of a single dose of dexamethasone, either by injection or in pill form, as a therapy for sore throat pain. Researchers enrolled 118 patients who came to one of the Mayo Clinic Hospitals in Rochester, Minn., between 1998 and 2000 with a sore throat. A throat culture was done on each patient and all were given a prescription for antibiotics. The patients were also asked to rate their pain on a scale of 1 to 10. Then the group was divided into four segments: One received an injection of the steroid, one received the steroid in pill form, and the other two groups received either placebo injections or pills.

Doctors evaluated patients' sore throat pain 12 and 24 hours later. Results show those who received the steroid in either the injection or the pill form found relief from their pain four hours sooner than did those who received the placebo injections and pills. The degree of relief patients reported was twice that of those in the placebo groups. The treatment was most effective in patients who had positive throat cultures for a bacterial infection. There were no reported side effects of the treatment.

The investigators conclude a single dose of dexamethasone is a safe, effective, and inexpensive treatment for sore throat pain.

SOURCE: Laryngoscope, 2002;112:87-93