Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Dosage effects of pulsed steroid therapy on serum cortisol levels in oral and maxillofacial surgery patients

1993; Elsevier BV; Volume: 51; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0278-2391(10)80414-8

1531-5053

Ronald C.D. Butler, Andrew A Vorono, Kenn Finstuen,

Dental Radiography and Imaging

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of two dosage regimens of dexamethasone on the serum cortisol levels of a group of patients undergoing major maxillofacial surgical procedures. Analysis of the data demonstrated that the use of dexamethasone, 10 to 20 mg intravenously given every 3 hours intraoperatively and every 4 hours postoperatively over 24 hours, followed by a repository dose of 80 mg of intramuscular methylprednisolone, causes short-term serum cortisol suppression. The maximum depression occurred on postoperative day 3; normal levels were restored by postoperative day 7. Therefore, pulsed therapy can be considered relatively safe when known contraindications have been considered.