Study Design and Patients
This retrospective study included 40 military patients presenting to the Victory hospital of the 15th infantry division of the army with acute sore throat symptoms from May 1 to December 31, 2019. Included patients were aged 18 years or older, prescribed a single dose of oral or intramuscular dexamethasone, and hospitalized for at least 1 day in the short-term care center of the hospital. Patients suspected to have infection complications, determined via a lung sound crackle, chest X-ray haziness, peritonsillar abscess, or thrombophlebitis in the internal jugular vein, were excluded. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Republic of Korea Army (AFMC-20042-IRB-20-042) and performed in accordance with the amended Declaration of Helsinki. Because this study was a retrospective analysis, the informed consent requirement was waived by the IRB.