title: Effects of oral prednisolone on recovery after tonsillectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of oral prednisolone on recovery from tonsillectomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, randomized, controlled trial of 198 consecutive patients, aged 4 years and older, with no previous or known contraindications to steroid therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  All 198 patients scheduled for elective tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy from April 2013 to April 2014 were included. The participants were then randomly assigned to receive a postoperative course of prednisolone 0.25 mg/kg/d or no prednisolone over 7 days. During the first postoperative day, pain, type of diet (none, fluid, soft, normal), type of activity (none, bed rest, quiet, restricted, normal), presence of nausea and vomiting, postoperative bleeding rate, and sleep disturbance were assessed using questionnaires. All patients were followed up on days 7 and 14 by endoscopic photographic examination of both tonsillar fossa and by completion of questionnaires.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No statistically significant differences in pain, diet, activity, rate of minor bleeding, nausea/vomiting, fever, or sleep disturbance were observed between the groups on day 1. On day 7, however, in pediatric patients, differences in pain (P = .001), diet (P = .001), activity (P = .004), mean area of re-epithelialization (P = .000), fever (P = .04), and sleep disturbance (P = .04) were observed. On day 14, differences in the mean area of re-epithelialization (P = .000, .001) remained in both pediatric and adult patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oral prednisolone may be beneficial during recovery from tonsillectomy without causing any serious complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Chungbuk National University College of Medicine, Cheongju, Korea.
authors.forename: Soo K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jisung
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jeong M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Je Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Yeon
authors.forename: Woo S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: Dong W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000233:Adenoidectomy; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010359:Patient Readmission; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011182:Postoperative Care; D019106:Postoperative Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014068:Tonsillectomy; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011239:Prednisolone
keywords: Tonsillectomy; pain; prednisolone