Are high-dose perioperative steroids necessary in patients undergoing colorectal surgery treated with steroid therapy within the past 12 months?

Am Surg. 2011 Oct;77(10):1295-9.

Abstract

Patients previously on corticosteroids within 1 year before surgery are routinely treated with perioperative high-dose corticosteroids. However, there is little evidence to support this practice. We postulated that patients off steroids but treated with corticosteroids within 1 year before surgery may be safely managed without perioperative steroids. A chart review was performed on patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treated with corticosteroids within 1 year before surgery. Patients received either perioperative high-dose steroids (HDS) or no steroids (NS). Perioperative vital signs were assessed. Forty-nine operations were performed. Eleven patients received HDS and 38 patients received NS. Aside from a higher incidence of tachycardia (heart rate greater than 100 beats/min) in the HDS group (82%) compared with the NS group (42%), there was no significant difference in hemodynamic instability between the two groups. One patient in the NS group required a single dose of intraoperative vasopressor after aggressive beta-blockade. All other episodes of hemodynamic instability resolved with no intervention, fluid boluses, or blood transfusion. No patients required rescue high-dose steroids for adrenal insufficiency. In patients with IBD undergoing major colorectal surgery, treated with corticosteroids within the past year, management without perioperative steroids seems safe. A prospective study assessing perioperative corticosteroid dosing is in progress.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • California / epidemiology
  • Colectomy*
  • Colonic Diseases / surgery*
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Glucocorticoids / administration & dosage*
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Postoperative Complications / epidemiology
  • Postoperative Complications / etiology
  • Postoperative Complications / prevention & control*
  • Preoperative Care / methods*
  • Prognosis
  • Rectal Diseases / surgery*
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Survival Rate / trends
  • Time Factors
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Glucocorticoids