Quantification of rebound edema after steroid treatment

OBJECTIVE: Return of edema after abrupt discontinuation of steroid treatmen t has never been studied or quantified. The purpose of this study was to me asure the effect of abrupt cessation and tapering doses of steroids on tiss ue water content (TWC) in a rat skin flap model. DESIGN: A randomized controlled animal trial was designed to study the effe cts of discontinuation of steroid on skin flap edema. The animals were assi gned to a control group (C), a steroid group (S), an abrupt steroid cessati on (SC) group, or a tapering steroid (ST) group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: In each group the skin naps were biopsied at 30 and 36 hours. TWC was determined by a biopsy-drying technique. RESULTS: A significant difference (P = 0.05) was found between the C and S groups and between the SC and S groups at both 30 and 36 hours, with the C group having the highest TWC. No significant difference was noted between t he SC and C groups. The ST group had significantly less edema than the C gr oup and similar TWC to that of the S group. CONCLUSION: Edema rebounded in the skin flaps after abrupt cessation of ste roids (SC was not different from C), presumably because of destabilization of inflammatory mediators. The rebound effect was not observed in the ST gr oup. The control of rebound edema by a tapering steroid protocol may be imp ortant in skin flap survival and may have implications for the management o f airway edema.