title: Does perioperative dexamethasone affect voice-related quality of life after thyroidectomy?
abstract: The objective of this study is to assess the impact of perioperative dexamethasone on post-thyroidectomy voice outcomes. This study is a retrospective review of prospectively collected data in a tertiary referral center. This is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on adult patients undergoing total thyroidectomy. Exclusion criteria were: previous neck surgery, thyroid lobectomy, neck dissection or other procedure together with thyroidectomy, pathological findings on laryngeal examination, preoperative or postoperative steroid therapy, diabetes mellitus, pregnancy, and postoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy. In all patients, flexible laryngoscopy was performed and Voice Handicap Index (VHI) scores were obtained the day before, 48 h and 1 month after surgery. Patients' medical records were reviewed to find the patients who had received dexamethasone by the anesthesiologist as nausea and vomiting prophylaxis or analgesia. Thus, two groups of patients were formed: dexamethasone (D) group and non-steroid (NS) group. Mann-Whitney test used to compare VHI between the two groups. 122 patients fulfilled the criteria. D group consisted of 50 patients (44 females; mean age 53.16 ± 17.61), in which a single IV dose of 8 mg dexamethasone had been administered perioperative, and NS group consisted of 72 patients (58 females; mean age 50.53 ± 13.60), where no steroids had been administered. No significant difference was noticed between D and NS groups for preoperative VHI score, VHI scores 48 h and 1 month after surgery. In our study, a single perioperative IV dose of 8 mg dexamethasone did not seem to add any benefit on voice-related quality of life after thyroid surgery.
authors: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital of Larissa, Viopolis, PO Box 1425, 41110, Larissa, Greece, vlachanas@gmail.com.
authors: Vasileios A
authors: VA
authors: Lachanas
authors: Sotirios
authors: S
authors: Exarchos
authors: Stergiani
authors: S
authors: Tsiouvaka
authors: Malamati
authors: M
authors: Tsea
authors: Jiannis K
authors: JK
authors: Hajiioannou
authors: Charalampos E
authors: CE
authors: Skoulakis
authors: John G
authors: JG
authors: Bizakis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D019990:Perioperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D061226:Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Injuries / Q000150:complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014826:Vocal Cord Paralysis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D014833:Voice Quality / Q000187:drug effects*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D003907:Dexamethasone