Post-Operative Steroids After Sleep Surgery

May 4, 2026 updated by: Mohamed Abdelwahab, Medical University of South Carolina

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial of Post-Operative Steroids After Sleep Surgery

The primary objective of this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study will be to determine if postoperative steroids significantly improve subjects' pain compared to a placebo after undergoing sleep surgery. The secondary objective is to determine if this same course of steroids improves how quickly subjects can tolerate a regular diet after surgery. Further, another secondary objective is to see if this will decrease a patient's postoperative narcotic usage. Investigators also will assess sleepiness, nasal breathing, and eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) after the procedure using the validated measures Preoperative Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation Survey (NOSE), and Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire (ETDQ-7) with an objective to see if these improve more or quicker in patients who receive postoperative steroids. Investigators hypothesize that postoperative steroids will significantly decrease a patient's pain quicker in their recovery, allow them to tolerate more oral intake early in their recovery, allow them to tolerate a regular diet earlier in their recovery, and reduce their postoperative narcotic usage. Investigators hypothesize that postoperative steroids will also improve patients' ESS, NOSE, and ETD scores postoperatively, but Investigators do not believe postoperative steroids will affect the oropharyngeal bleeding rate of patients. This study will provide pilot data to determine if postoperative steroids and what dosage should be part of a standardized postoperative regimen in patients undergoing sleep surgery.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a multifactorial disease that negatively affects almost every system in the body. While continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) can be used as an effective treatment, there are many reasons that patients cannot tolerate CPAP, including claustrophobia, rhinitis sicca, ineffectiveness, and manufacturer recalls that most recently have even been fatal. Therefore, sleep surgery continues to be an increasingly utilized treatment option for patients with OSA who cannot tolerate or obtain CPAP. However postoperatively, patients typically complain of significant pain, sometimes requiring a significant course of narcotic pain medication, odynophagia, and dysphagia. These side effects often can make patients hesitant to pursue sleep surgery and carry the risk of patients becoming dehydrated and malnourished postoperatively, which can lead to representation to the Emergency Department. Minimal research currently exists on how to improve treating pain, odynophagia, and dysphagia in this patient population. One study by Williams et al. evaluated the use of a one-time dose of intravenous or intramuscular dose of steroids versus placebo after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty but did not find a clinically significant difference between the two groups postoperatively. However, in their study, they mention that likely their intervention was too short, and that further investigation into a longer course of steroid treatment, our current intervention for this study, could potentially show clinically significant improvements. Furthermore, there have been a few randomized controlled trials showing that a course of steroids improve pain and narcotic consumption after tonsillectomy in adults. However, no research has studies the postoperative effects of steroids on other sleep surgeries, such as palatopharyngoplasty, hypoglossal nerve stimulation, genioglossus advancement, or maxillomandibular advancement. Investigators hypothesize that postoperative steroids will be superior to no steroids in terms of pain, dysphagia, and narcotic usage.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
120

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • South Carolina
      • Charleston, South Carolina, United States, 29412
        • Medical University of South Carolina

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults 18 years or older
  • Undergoing sleep surgery, specifically palatopharyngoplasty, tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy, uvulectomy, hypoglossal nerve stimulation, genioglossal advancement, or maxillomandibular advancement
  • Ability to complete all study questions in English

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any self-reported allergies to corticosteroids
  • Intra-operative surgical or anesthetic complication
  • Pre-operative steroid use (defined as any steroid use greater than three days duration within 30 days prior to sleep surgery)
  • Inability to perform study due to underlying medical condition
  • Inability to answer postoperative questionnaires due to underlying medical conditions

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: 3 doses of intravenous 8mg dexamethasone with 3 doses of oral 8mg dexamethasone
Experimental drug administered both intravenously and orally
Drug: 8mg dexamethasone
Minimal research exists on how to treat pain, odynophagia, and dysphagia in sleep surgery patients. One study by Williams et al. evaluated the use of a one-time dose of intravenous or intramuscular dose of steroids versus placebo after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty but did not find a clinically significant difference between the two groups postoperatively. However this study mentioned that their current intervention was too short and that a longer-term steroid intervention could be beneficial. This is the goal of this intervention.
Other Names:
  • Decadron
Other: 3 doses of intravenous 8mg dexamethasone with 3 doses of placebo
Experimental drug administered intravenously, while the placebo is administered orally
Drug: 8mg dexamethasone
Minimal research exists on how to treat pain, odynophagia, and dysphagia in sleep surgery patients. One study by Williams et al. evaluated the use of a one-time dose of intravenous or intramuscular dose of steroids versus placebo after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty but did not find a clinically significant difference between the two groups postoperatively. However this study mentioned that their current intervention was too short and that a longer-term steroid intervention could be beneficial. This is the goal of this intervention.
Other Names:
  • Decadron
Other: 3 doses of intravenous placebo with 3 doses of oral 8mg dexamethasone
Placebo administered intravenously, while the experimental drug is administered orally
Drug: 8mg dexamethasone
Minimal research exists on how to treat pain, odynophagia, and dysphagia in sleep surgery patients. One study by Williams et al. evaluated the use of a one-time dose of intravenous or intramuscular dose of steroids versus placebo after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty but did not find a clinically significant difference between the two groups postoperatively. However this study mentioned that their current intervention was too short and that a longer-term steroid intervention could be beneficial. This is the goal of this intervention.
Other Names:
  • Decadron
Placebo Comparator: 3 doses of intravenous placebo with 3 doses of placebo
Placebo administered both intravenously and orally
Drug: 8mg dexamethasone
Minimal research exists on how to treat pain, odynophagia, and dysphagia in sleep surgery patients. One study by Williams et al. evaluated the use of a one-time dose of intravenous or intramuscular dose of steroids versus placebo after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty but did not find a clinically significant difference between the two groups postoperatively. However this study mentioned that their current intervention was too short and that a longer-term steroid intervention could be beneficial. This is the goal of this intervention.
Other Names:
  • Decadron

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pain control
Time Frame: 2 weeks
As determined by a validated visual analog scale, with scores being scaled from 0 to 10, with 0 being the lowest score (no pain) and 10 being the highest score (most extreme amount of pain)
2 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Medical University of South Carolina

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Nicolas Poupore, Medical University of South Carolina

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 30, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 5, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 5, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 11, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 4, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Pro00138969

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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