Post-Operative Steroids After Sleep Surgery

Summary

The primary objective of this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study will be to determine if postoperative steroids significantly improve subjects' pain compared to a placebo after undergoing sleep surgery. The secondary objective is to determine if this same course of steroids improves how quickly subjects can tolerate a regular diet after surgery. Further, another secondary objective is to see if this will decrease a patient's postoperative narcotic usage. Investigators also will assess sleepiness, nasal breathing, and eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) after the procedure using the validated measures Preoperative Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation Survey (NOSE), and Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire (ETDQ-7) with an objective to see if these improve more or quicker in patients who receive postoperative steroids. Investigators hypothesize that postoperative steroids will significantly decrease a patient's pain quicker in their recovery, allow them to tolerate more oral intake early in their recovery, allow them to tolerate a regular diet earlier in their recovery, and reduce their postoperative narcotic usage. Investigators hypothesize that postoperative steroids will also improve patients' ESS, NOSE, and ETD scores postoperatively, but Investigators do not believe postoperative steroids will affect the oropharyngeal bleeding rate of patients. This study will provide pilot data to determine if postoperative steroids and what dosage should be part of a standardized postoperative regimen in patients undergoing sleep surgery.

Timeline

Start

2026-07-01

Primary completion

2027-06-30

Completion

2028-06-30

Publications

• Background Lachance M, Lacroix Y, Audet N, Savard P, Thuot F. The use of dexamethasone to reduce pain after tonsillectomy in adults: a double-blind prospective randomized trial. Laryngoscope. 2008 Feb;118(2):232-6. doi: 10.1097/MLG.0b013e318159a5cc.
• Background Stewart R, Bill R, Ullah R, McConaghy P, Hall SJ. Dexamethasone reduces pain after tonsillectomy in adults. Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci. 2002 Oct;27(5):321-6. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2273.2002.00588.x.
• Background Williams PM, Strome M, Eliachar I, Lavertu P, Wood BG, Vito KJ. Impact of steroids on recovery after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty. Laryngoscope. 1999 Dec;109(12):1941-6. doi: 10.1097/00005537-199912000-00008.
• Background Abdelwahab M, Marques S, Howard J, Huang A, Lechner M, Olds C, Capasso R. Incidence and risk factors of chronic opioid use after sleep apnea surgery. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022 Jul 1;18(7):1805-1813. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.9978.
• Background Shah RR, Thaler ER. Base of Tongue Surgery for Obstructive Sleep Apnea in the Era of Neurostimulation. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2020 Jun;53(3):431-443. doi: 10.1016/j.otc.2020.02.006. Epub 2020 Apr 23.
• Background Barrera JE. Skeletal Surgery for Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Sleep Med Clin. 2018 Dec;13(4):549-558. doi: 10.1016/j.jsmc.2018.07.006.
• Background Smith DF, Cohen AP, Ishman SL. Surgical management of OSA in adults. Chest. 2015 Jun;147(6):1681-1690. doi: 10.1378/chest.14-2078.
• Background Kapur VK, Auckley DH, Chowdhuri S, Kuhlmann DC, Mehra R, Ramar K, Harrod CG. Clinical Practice Guideline for Diagnostic Testing for Adult Obstructive Sleep Apnea: An American Academy of Sleep Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline. J Clin Sleep Med. 2017 Mar 15;13(3):479-504. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.6506.

Drugs

Indications