A PROSPECTIVE, DOUBLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF PERIOPERATIVE STEROIDS ON PALATOPLASTY PATIENTS

Objective: To determine whether perioperative steroids affect the outc ome of patients who undergo palatoplasty. Design: A prospective, doubl e-blind, randomized study. Setting: A university medical center. Patie nts: Twenty patients undergoing primary repair of a cleft palate. Inte rvention: A prospective double-blind technique was used to randomly as sign patients to receive a placebo or dexamethasone sodium phosphate p erioperatively. Main Outcome Measure: Patients were monitored for post operative airway distress, fever, oral fluid intake, days of hospitali zation, and wound healing. Results: The use of perioperative steroids was associated with shorter hospitalizations. No adverse sequelae from the administration of steroids were identified. Conclusion: In our cu rrent managed care environment, the use of perioperative steroids may play an important role in reducing health care costs.