Hemorrhage Rates in Pediatric Patients Receiving Postoperative Steroids After Tonsillectomy

Prednisone Decreases Opioid Use in Adults Undergoing Benign Oropharyngeal Surgery

OBJECTIVE

This study sought to analyze the efficacy and safety of postoperative prednisone to reduce reliance on opioids in adult benign oropharyngeal surgery.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING

Single tertiary-care facility.

METHODS

Patients undergoing tonsillectomy (T), tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (T&A), and/or modified uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) from December 2020 to January 2023 received the standard of care postoperative management. A prednisone taper was dependent on surgeon preference. Cohorts were based on the prescription of postoperative steroids. Patients completed a survey to assess opioid usage, pain scores, and steroid compliance.

RESULTS

Seventy-two patients were included. The nonsteroid cohort (N = 29) received an average of 467 ± 94.1 morphine milligram equivalents (MME), and the steroid cohort (N = 43) received an average of 285 ± 128 MME (P < 0.001). The nonsteroid cohort consumed 1.62 times more opioids than the steroid cohort (P < 0.002). There were no significant differences in complication or refill rates between treatment groups. There were no significant differences in pain scores on the day of surgery or postoperative days 1, 5, or 10 (P = 0.34, P = 0.66, P = 0.62, and P = 0.22, respectively). Patients undergoing T&A (p = 0.019) or who had current psychiatric medication use (P < 0.006) consumed significantly more opioids. Patients who received a total opioid prescription of >300 MME (40 5-mL doses of 5 mg/5 mL liquid oxycodone) consumed 2.27 times more postoperative opioids than patients with opioid prescriptions ≤300 MME (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Patients who did not receive steroids consumed 1.62 times more postoperative opioids compared to those who completed a steroid taper. Corticosteroid use was not associated with changes in pain scores, refill rates, or complication rates and may be considered in a multimodal approach to pain management in adults undergoing benign oropharyngeal surgery, although further study is warranted.

The Impact of Surgical Indication on Posttonsillectomy Hemorrhage: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the impact of the surgical indication on posttonsillectomy bleed rates.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL.

REVIEW METHODS

A systematic review was performed searching for articles published from the date of inception to July 6, 2022. English language articles describing posttonsillectomy hemorrhage rates in pediatric patients (age ≤ 18) stratified by indication were selected for inclusion. A meta-analysis of proportions with comparison (Δ) of weighted proportions was conducted. All studies were assessed for risk of bias.

RESULTS

A total of 72 articles with 173,970 patients were selected for inclusion. The most common indications were chronic/recurrent tonsillitis (CT/RT), obstructive sleep apnea/sleep-disordered breathing (OSA/SDB), and adenotonsillar hypertrophy (ATH). Posttonsillectomy hemorrhage rates for CT/RT, OSA/SDB, and ATH were 3.57%, 3.69%, and 2.72%, respectively. Patients operated on for a combination of CT/RT and OSA/SDB had a bleed rate of 5.99% which was significantly higher than those operated on for CT/RT alone (Δ2.42%, p = .0006), OSA/SDB alone (Δ2.30%, p = .0016), and ATH alone (Δ3.27%, p < .0001). Additionally, those operated on for a combination of ATH and CT/RT had a hemorrhage rate of 6.93%, significantly higher than those operated on for CT/RT alone (Δ3.36%, p = .0003), OSA/SDB alone (Δ3.01%, p = .0014), and ATH alone (Δ3.98%, p < .0001).

CONCLUSION

Patients operated on for multiple indications had significantly higher rates of posttonsillectomy hemorrhage than those operated on for a single surgical indication. Better documentation of patients with multiple indications would help further characterize the magnitude of the compounding effect described here.

Effect of post-operative oral steroids on bleeding rate after pediatric tonsillectomy

PURPOSE

In 2013, the FDA placed a black box warning on the usage of opioid pain medications in the post-operative setting after pediatric adenotonsillectomy. Since then, alternative pain management regimens have been employed. Some have advocated for post-operative oral steroids, in part due to the effectiveness of intraoperative intravenous steroids in reducing post-operative pain and nausea. The evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of post-operative oral steroids is not as clear. The purpose of this study was to examine whether post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage rates in pediatric patients were affected by post-operative oral steroid usage.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Case-control retrospective chart review using a deidentified data set of patients undergoing tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy at a single academic medical center between June 2012 and November 2015.

RESULTS

A total of 1416 patients were included in the study, with 704 in the no post-operative oral steroids group and 712 in the group who did receive post-operative oral steroids. The rate of post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage in the post-operative oral steroid group was 3.1 % compared to 1.8 % in the group who did not receive post-operative oral steroids, however, this was not a statistically significant difference (P = .132).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study suggests that post-operative oral steroids are safe and do not increase the risk of post-operative hemorrhage after pediatric tonsillectomy.