Dysphagia Following Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery; Steroid vs Saline

Dysphagia Clinical Trial

— DysDexVSSal  

Official title:

The Effects of Perioperative Steroids on Dysphagia Following Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery: A Randomized, Prospective, Double-Blind Study.

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02416934
• Other study ID #: 1405296745
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: July 2012
• Est. completion date: May 15, 2017

Study information

• Verified date: January 2019
• Source: West Virginia University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This prospective, randomized, double blind, controlled study evaluates the effect of perioperative IV steroids versus saline on swallowing after anterior cervical spine surgery.

Description:

This investigation is a prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial testing peri-operative steroids versus saline and the effect on swallowing after anterior cervical spine surgery. Swallowing symptoms will be measured using the patient reported Bazaz (Bazaz) scale and the Dysphagia Short Questionnaire (DSQ). Swallowing data will be obtained pre-operatively, one day and two days post-operatively and then one week, two weeks, four weeks, three months, six months, and one year post-operatively. Patient clinical outcomes will be captured using web-based progress reports. Patients will complete the Quality of Life (QoL-12), Neck Disability Index (NDI), and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) questionnaires electronically pre-operatively and at one year post-operatively. This outcome data will help us analyze the swallowing function or symptoms with the overall clinical course of the patients enrolled in this study.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 74
• Est. completion date: May 15, 2017
• Est. primary completion date: May 15, 2016
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 80 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Elective anterior approach to subaxial cervical spine (C3 - T1);

• ages 18-80

Exclusion Criteria:

• Traumatic or tumor etiologies

• undergoing anterior-posterior operations

• neoplastic, or infectious conditions requiring surgery

• a history of previous anterior cervical spine surgery

• any patient requiring a halo vest

• patients on chronic steroids

• patients remaining intubated post-operatively (please see more under risks below)

• less than 18 years of age

• pregnant women

• no phone

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Deglutition Disorders
• Dysphagia

Intervention

Drug:
• Treatment 1; Dexamethasone
Dexamethasone IV given within the first hour of surgery; second dose given 8 hours after first dose; third dose given 8 hours after second dose.
• Treatment 0; Saline placebo
Saline (placebo) IV given within the first hour of surgery; second dose given 8 hours after first dose; third dose given 8 hours after second dose.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	West Virginia University	Morgantown	West Virginia

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
West Virginia University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (13)

Bazaz R, Lee MJ, Yoo JU. Incidence of dysphagia after anterior cervical spine surgery: a prospective study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2002 Nov 15;27(22):2453-8. — View Citation

Cavusoglu H, Tuncer C, Tanik C, Mutlu Z, Zengin E, Karabagli M, Aydin Y. The impact of automatic retractors on the esophagus during anterior cervical surgery: an experimental in vivo study in a sheep model. J Neurosurg Spine. 2009 Nov;11(5):547-54. doi: 10.3171/2009.6.SPINE09216. — View Citation

Emery SE, Akhavan S, Miller P, Furey CG, Yoo JU, Rowbottom JR, Bohlman HH. Steroids and risk factors for airway compromise in multilevel cervical corpectomy patients: a prospective, randomized, double-blind study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2009 Feb 1;34(3):229-32. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e318193a287. — View Citation

Fountas KN. Re: Papavero L, Heese O, Klotz-Regener V, et al. The impact of esophagus retraction on early dysphagia after anterior cervical surgery. Spine 2007;32:1089-93. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2007 Dec 15;32(26):3090. — View Citation

Kang SH, Kim DK, Seo KM, Kim KT, Kim YB. Multi-level spinal fusion and postoperative prevertebral thickness increase the risk of dysphagia after anterior cervical spine surgery. J Clin Neurosci. 2011 Oct;18(10):1369-73. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2011.02.033. Epub 2011 Jul 27. — View Citation

Lee MJ, Bazaz R, Furey CG, Yoo J. Risk factors for dysphagia after anterior cervical spine surgery: a two-year prospective cohort study. Spine J. 2007 Mar-Apr;7(2):141-7. Epub 2007 Jan 22. — View Citation

Lee SH, Kim KT, Suk KS, Park KJ, Oh KI. Effect of retropharyngeal steroid on prevertebral soft tissue swelling following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: a prospective, randomized study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2011 Dec 15;36(26):2286-92. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e318237e5d0. — View Citation

Mendoza-Lattes S, Clifford K, Bartelt R, Stewart J, Clark CR, Boezaart AP. Dysphagia following anterior cervical arthrodesis is associated with continuous, strong retraction of the esophagus. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2008 Feb;90(2):256-63. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.G.00258. — View Citation

Pedram M, Castagnera L, Carat X, Macouillard G, Vital JM. Pharyngolaryngeal lesions in patients undergoing cervical spine surgery through the anterior approach: contribution of methylprednisolone. Eur Spine J. 2003 Feb;12(1):84-90. Epub 2002 Dec 4. — View Citation

Rihn JA, Kane J, Albert TJ, Vaccaro AR, Hilibrand AS. What is the incidence and severity of dysphagia after anterior cervical surgery? Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2011 Mar;469(3):658-65. doi: 10.1007/s11999-010-1731-8. — View Citation

Riley LH 3rd, Skolasky RL, Albert TJ, Vaccaro AR, Heller JG. Dysphagia after anterior cervical decompression and fusion: prevalence and risk factors from a longitudinal cohort study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2005 Nov 15;30(22):2564-9. — View Citation

Riley LH 3rd, Vaccaro AR, Dettori JR, Hashimoto R. Postoperative dysphagia in anterior cervical spine surgery. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2010 Apr 20;35(9 Suppl):S76-85. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181d81a96. Review. — View Citation

Siska PA, Ponnappan RK, Hohl JB, Lee JY, Kang JD, Donaldson WF 3rd. Dysphagia after anterior cervical spine surgery: a prospective study using the swallowing-quality of life questionnaire and analysis of patient comorbidities. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2011 Aug 1;36(17):1387-91. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e31822340f2. — View Citation

* Note: There are 13 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Swallowing Difficulty	Two measurement surveys were used: The Dysphagia Short Questionnaire: An Instrument for Evaluation of Dysphagia (DSQ) and Bazaz Dysphagia Scale (Bazaz). The DSQ and Bazaz determine levels of dysphagia over time after anterior cervical spine surgery. A DSQ score of zero indicates no symptoms. Any number above zero indicates difficulty swallowing. The Bazaz score of Zero indicates no symptoms. Any number above zero indicates difficulty swallowing. Numbers of subjects reporting any difficulty swallowing (had to have a score of at least 1) at various time points are listed below associated with the randomization assignment and survey used.	1 day; 2 days; 1 week; 2 weeks; 1 month; 3 months; 6 months;12 months
Secondary	Change in Quality of Life	Change in Quality of life measured by the Neck Disability Index (NDI) from baseline and 1 year for Treatment 1; Dexamethasone and Treatment 0; Saline placebo. The NDI measures self-rated disability due to neck pain. Each of the 10 items is scored from 0 - 5. The maximum score is 50. The higher the score the more disability. The scale is 0 - 4 = no disability; 5 - 14 = mild;15 - 24 = moderate; 25 - 34 = severe; above 34 = complete disability.	Baseline and 1 year (or last visit as appropriate). Not all subjects followed up at 1 year.
Secondary	Fusion Rate Steroid vs Placebo	Participants were considered fused if radiographs demonstrated less than 1 millimeter of interspinous motion between flexion and extension,7 or if CT/MRI demonstrated clear evidence of bone bridging from endplate to endplate.	1 year