Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis and steroid use during the pandemic of COVID-19

Abstract

Abstract. BACKGROUND: Steroid therapy is an immunosuppressive treatment and may have possible side effects in a pandemic period. However, the number of studies on the use corticosteroids for the treatment of idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis (IGM) especially during the pandemic is almost negligible. METHODS: The data of patients with the diagnosis of IGM between January–December 2020 in the General Surgery Clinic were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were explained in detail that steroid therapy is an immunosuppressive treatment and it may have possible side effects. Prednisolone 0.5–1 mg/kg/day was given as steroid therapy. The treatment was planned for 4–6 months according to the severity of the symptoms and was completed by reducing it to a total dose of 10 mg/month. RESULTS: Eleven patients were included in the study. Five patients had completed steroid treatment and continued their followup. In our study, a total of six patients were receiving steroid therapy. CONCLUSIONS: There is no consensus yet on the use of the steroid in the COVID-19 pandemic. Low doses Corticosteroids (<1 mg/kg/day) don’t have an effect on increase mortality in patients with severe COVID-19. We can think that low-dose corticosteroids used by many centers in IGM treatment do not have a negative effect on mortality.