Hormone Replacement Therapy and Recurrence Risk in Postmenopausal Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis

To evaluate whether systemic hormone replacement therapy (HRT) influences recurrence outcomes in postmenopausal patients with idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS).

Retrospective cohort study.

Tertiary academic medical center.

Postmenopausal women (≥50 years) with iSGS who underwent laser-wedge excision between 2002 and 2024 were included. Patients were categorized by systemic HRT exposure (oral estrogen, progesterone, combined estrogen-progesterone, or transdermal estrogen) at or before their first surgery. Overdispersion was assessed for all Poisson models; given significant overdispersion, negative binomial regression with a log-offset for follow-up time was used as the primary model. Surgery-free intervals were analyzed using linear mixed models, and time to first recurrence using Cox regression. Models were adjusted for age, body mass index (BMI), parity, oophorectomy, follow-up length, surgery type, and serial intralesional steroid injections (SILSI) use.

Among 125 patients, 96 had never used HRT (Never HRT) and 29 used HRT, including 19 actively using HRT at presentation (Current HRT), 5 past users, and 5 subsequent users. The HRT versus Never-HRT recurrence rate comparison was not significant (adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.48-1.37, P = .422). However, Current HRT use was associated with a 53% lower adjusted recurrence rate versus Never-HRT use (adjusted IRR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.25, 0.89, P = .0203). Surgery-free intervals and time to first recurrence trended longer in Current HRT users but were not statistically significant.

Current HRT use at presentation was associated with significantly fewer recurrences in postmenopausal iSGS patients. These findings may inform individualized, shared decision-making regarding HRT use in this population.