Abstract:Objective To investigate the clinical effect of external application of traditional Chinese medicine combined with intrathyroidal injection of dexamethasone in the treatment of subacute thyroiditis (SAT). Methods A total of 80 patients with SAT were enrolled and randomly divided into treatment group and control group, with 40 patients in each group. The patients in the control group were treated with intrathyroidal injection of dexamethasone sodium phosphate injection, and those in the treatment group were given external application of tradition Chinese medicine in addition to the treatment in the control group. The course of treatment was 4 weeks for both groups. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and thyroid function [free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)] were measured before and after treatment, and the clinical outcome was evaluated. Results Both groups had significant reductions in FT3, FT4, and ESR and a significant increase in TSH after treatment (P<0.05), and there were significant differences between the two groups with respect to the changes in FT3, FT4, TSH, and ESR after treatment (P<0.05). There was a significant difference in the distribution of clinical outcomes between the two groups (P<0.05). The treatment group had a significantly lower recurrence rate than the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion External application of traditional Chinese medicine combined with dexamethasone can improve the clinical outcome of SAT and reduce recurrence rate.