Epidural steroids, postoperative morbidity, and recovery in patients undergoing microsurgical lumbar discectomy

Intraoperative epidural corticosteroids have been used by some surgeons to decrease pain following surgery for a herniated lumbar disc. In this study, 84 consecutively treated, comparable patients with unilateral lumbar disc herniation were prospectively assigned randomly to receive either epidural corticosteroids (40 mg methylprednisolone acetate) or saline at the conclusion of the operative procedure. The postoperative morbidity of these two groups was evaluated by tabulating the following parameters: pain relief as measured by consumption of postoperative pain medications; the length of hospital stay; postoperative functional status; and the time interval from surgery until return to work. The mean postoperative analgesic medications consumed was 12.2 +/- 1.9 mg of morphine equivalents in the corticosteroid group versus 12.2 +/- 1.8 mg of morphine equivalents in the control group. The mean hospital stay was less than 2 days in each group, and the mean interval until return to work was 21.2 +/- 2.7 days in the corticosteroid group versus 25.4 +/- 3.1 days in the control group. Moreover, no statistically significant difference was measured between the steroid-treated and control groups when the data were stratified for sex, age, and site of disc herniation. The mean outcome scores, which are derived from a postoperative assessment of pain relief resulting from surgery, functional status, and interval until return to work, were identical in the corticosteroid and control groups. This study concludes that epidural corticosteroid administration after microsurgical lumbar discectomy for unilateral disc herniation does not lessen postoperative morbidity or improve functional recovery.