Validation of perioperative steroids administration in liver resection: a randomized controlled trial

We performed a randomized controlled trial to investigate the clinical benefits of perioperative treatment with steroids in patients undergoing liver resection.

Perioperative steroids are considered to reduce surgical stress, but evidence supporting proposed clinical benefits is largely anecdotal.

The 210 patients scheduled to undergo liver resection were randomly assigned to a steroids group (n = 105) or a control group (n = 105). The steroids group received 500 mg hydrocortisone immediately before hepatic-pedicle clamping, followed by 300 mg hydrocortisone on postoperative day (POD) 1, 200 mg on POD 2, and 100 mg on POD 3. Serum levels of total bilirubin, aminotransferases coagulation factors, and inflammatory-related cytokines, and the clinical course were compared between the 2 groups. The primary end point was the postoperative bilirubin level.

All 210 patients underwent radical liver resection with no operative mortality. The median bilirubin level on POD 2 was significantly lower in the steroids group [0.71 mg/dL (0.33-2.17)] than in the control group [1.03 mg/dl (0.39-3.57); P = 0.01]. The postoperative time courses of the bilirubin level (P = 0.01), the interleukin-6 level (P = 0.01) and the C-reactive protein level (P = 0.01) were significantly lower whereas the the prothrombin level (P = 0.01) and interleukin-10 level (P = 0.01) were significantly higher in the steroids group. There was no difference between the groups in the proportion of patients with complications (40% vs 43%; P = 0.66) or the length of the hospital stay (14 days vs 13 days; P = 0.68).

Perioperative treatment with steroids has a positive impact on the liver function of patients who undergo liver resection, without increasing the risk of complications.