Effect of Intraoperative Local Dexamethasone on Dysphagia Incidence and Severity Following Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery

Abstract

Objective:  To evaluate the effectiveness of intraoperative local dexamethasone in reducing the incidence and severity of dysphagia following anterior cervical spine surgery (ACSS).

Material and Methods:  The retrospective research analyzed 74 patients who experienced elective ACSS (January 2024 to February 2025). The first patient group received 10 mg of local dexamethasone before surgical bonding however the other patient group received no steroid treatment. The Bazaz scale together with the Dysphagia Short Questionnaire (DSQ) served to evaluate dysphagia levels and pain and disability ratings relied on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Neck Disability Index (NDI). The researchers combined their assessment of failure rates with fusion success to build their analysis. SPSS software analyzed the obtained data and researchers established p < 0.05 as the statistical significance threshold.

Results:  The research follow-up included 64 patients for an average period of two years. Interactive dexamethasone medication administration to surgical patients improved their swallowing function evaluation scores during their second postoperative day (Bazaz: 1.16 ± 1.35) versus patients not treated with the steroid (Bazaz: 2.10 ± 1.33; p < 0.0001). Statistics showed that dexamethasone administration in surgery patients did not affect their pain scores or their fusion rates and hospital stay durations. Dexamethasone administration in the research study demonstrated no adverse effects that emerged during the study period.

Conclusion:  The surgical application of dexamethasone at the local site achieves effective and safe swallowing discomfort reduction following ACSS interventions without affecting overall surgical outcomes.