2017 AAOS Annual Meeting: The Effect of Local versus Intravenous Steroids on Dysphagia and Dysphonia Following Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF): A Single-blinded, Prospective, Randomized Control Trial

72 patients undergoing anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) were included in this study to determine the effects of different steroid treatments on postoperative dysphagia and dysphonia. Patients were randomized to three groups: a control group receiving no steroid, an intravenous (IV) steroid group receiving 10mg of dexamethasone intraoperatively, or a local steroid group receiving 40mg of triamcinolone in the retropharyngeal space directly on the cervical plate. At 2 weeks, the local steroid group demonstrated a significantly lower incidence of moderate/severe dysphagia compared to the other two groups. At 6 weeks, the incidence of moderate/severe dysphagia was lower among the local steroid group and the IV steroid group compared to the control group.