Single Dose Corticosteroid Therapy After Surgical Repair of Fallot’s Tetralogy; A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND Inflammatory reaction can produce several complications after cardiac surgery. Many attempts have been made to reduce these complications; perioperative corticosteroid therapy is one of the simplest methods. OBJECTIVES We conducted a randomized study to evaluate the efficacy of single dose methylprednisolone, prescribed after surgery, for reducing the complications. Repair of Tetralogy of Fallot was chosen as a homogenous large group for the study. PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred children who underwent total repair of Tetralogy of Fallot were enrolled in this study. After the surgery, all patients were transferred to pediatric ICU and were randomized (in a double-blind fashion) in 2 groups (A and B); a single dose of methylprednisolone (30 mg/kg of body weight) was injected to participants of group "A" just at the time of ICU entrance. Group "B" received no drug. Then, clinical outcomes and laboratory data were compared between the two groups. RESULTS The only significant differences were lower incidence of bacteremia and higher incidence of hyperglycemia in the group who were used methylprednisolone. CONCLUSIONS Using a single postsurgical dose of methylprednisolone does not significantly alter the clinical outcome after repairing Tetralogy of Fallot.