• Wei Shi, Ying Chen, Meng-Qiu Zhang, Guo-Wei Che, and Hai Yu.
• Department of Anesthesiology, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China.
• J Clin Anesth. 2021 Dec 1; 75: 110526.

Study ObjectiveEvidence from previous studies indicates that glucocorticoids offer effective postoperative analgesia and improve the quality of recovery (QoR). The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of preoperative methylprednisolone on early postoperative pain and QoR following thoracoscopic lung surgery.DesignA prospective, single-center, three-arm, double-blinded, randomized trial.SettingTertiary university hospital.PatientsAdult patients aged ≥18 years undergoing thoracoscopic lung surgery were eligible for participation.InterventionsPatients enrolled in this study were randomized to receive preoperative methylprednisolone (40 mg or 120 mg) or identical volumes of 0.9% saline.MeasurementsThe primary outcome was the proportion of moderate-to-severe pain (numerical rating scale [NRS] ≥ 4 when coughing during pulmonary rehabilitation exercises) on the first day postoperatively. The postoperative pain scores, QoR-15 scores and other secondary outcomes were also recorded.Main ResultsOf the 180 enrolled patients, 173 patients were included in the primary analysis. The results showed that the proportion of moderate-to-severe pain was not significantly different between the combined methylprednisolone group and the placebo group (51.7% vs. 64.9%; absolute difference, 13.2%; 95% CI, -2.1% to 29.3%; P = 0.10). Patients who received methylprednisolone treatment had lower pain scores at rest and coughing on the first day after surgery than those who received placebo treatment, with mean differences of 0.5 and 0.7, respectively (P < 0.01). QoR-15 scores were higher in patients treated with methylprednisolone at day 1 (mean difference, 6.9; P < 0.001) and day 2 (mean difference, 7.2; P < 0.001) than in patients who received placebo treatment. No side-effects associated with methylprednisolone treatment were observed.ConclusionsOur findings suggested that preoperative methylprednisolone (either high or low dose) has limited impact on early postoperative pain and recovery in patients undergoing thoracoscopic lung surgery, with no clinically relevant benefits detected when compared with placebo.Trial RegistrationChinese Clinical Trail Register (identifier: ChiCTR1900021020).Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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