Taper Or Abrupt Steroid Stop: TOASSTtrial

In total, 530 patients will be enrolled. Patients will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either prednisone in decreasing doses over 4 weeks or placebo.

Patients, treating physicians, and study personnel will be blinded to treatment allocation to either prednisone or matching placebo. At inclusion, we will perform a 250 micrograms Synacthen® stimulation test. The results of the test will be blinded to treating physicians and investigators, and its value to predict clinical outcome will only be assessed after completion of the trial. As a safety measure, all patients will be instructed about stress coverage as well as signs and symptoms of hypocortisolism and will be provided with emergency medication. Patients will be randomized to the standard (tapering) or the experimental (matching placebo) arm. Follow-up will be for six months. In order to improve adherence to the study and ensure feasibility, follow-up visits in most study centers will be by telephone only. Visits will be performed early after stopping glucocorticoids in both arms (i.e. at days 7 and 35) to ensure safety; the other two visits will be on days 90 and 180.

Amendment approved in 1-2018: former exclusion criterion 'status post organ transplantation' was revised and deleted

Inclusion criteria

• Informed Consent as documented by signature (Appendix Informed Consent Form)
• Age ≥ 18 years
• Daily glucocorticoid dose ≥ 7.5 mg prednisone-equivalent at the time of inclusion
• Therapy over ≥ 28 days, ≥ 7.5 mg average daily dose, with a cumulative glucocorticoid dose ≥ 420 mg prednisone-equivalent prior to inclusion
• Tapering not or no longer mandatory to treat underlying disease

Exclusion criteria

• Primary adrenal failure
• Treatment with systemic depot glucocorticoids (e.g. intramuscular, epidural)
• Incapability to administer glucocorticoid cover treatment in situations of stress
• Inability or unwillingness to provide informed consent
• Women who are pregnant or breast feeding,
• Intention to become pregnant during the course of the study,
• Lack of safe contraception, defined as: Female participants of childbearing potential, not using and not willing to continue using a medically reliable method of contraception for the entire study duration, such as oral, injectable, or implantable contraceptives, or intrauterine contraceptive devices, or who are not using any other method considered sufficiently reliable by the investigator in individual cases.
• Known or suspected non-compliance
• Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e.g. due to language problems, psychological disorders, dementia, etc. of the participant,
• Participation in another study with investigational drug within the 30 days preceding and during the present study,
• Previous enrolment into the current study,
• Enrolment of the investigator, his/her family members, employees and other dependent persons