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Oral corticosteroids have been studied in patients with sore throats, but not in the absence of antibiotics. In this U.K. general practice study, investigators recruited 576 adults with acute sore throat judged by their physicians not to require immediate antibiotics. Participants' throats were swabbed, but rapid streptococcal antigen test results were not made available to clinicians. Patients were randomized to receive oral dexamethasone (10 mg in a single dose) or placebo. Physicians could prescribe antibiotics to be taken 48 hours later if symptoms had not improved.
About 40% of patients in both groups were offered delayed antibiotic prescriptions. At 48 hours (but not at 24 hours), dexamethasone patients were significantly more likely t…