Does Intraoperative Application of Steroids Affect Early Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy?

Does Intraoperative Application of Steroids Affect Early Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy? - a Randomized Controlled Trial

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT07411326

Enrollment

Registered

2026-02-13

Start date

2022-09-10

Completion date

2025-01-31

Last updated

2026-02-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Lumbar Herniated Disk, Lumbar Radiculopathy

Keywords

steroids, lumbar radiculopathy, back and leg pain, ODI, endoscopic surgery

Brief summary

Prospective randomised trial assessing whether intraoperative application of steroids leads to better clinical outcomes in patients submitted to lumbar discectomy

Detailed description

Prospective randomised trial assessing whether intraoperative application of steroids leads to better clinical outcomes in patients submitted to lumbar discectomy A control group has hernia removal without preoperative application of dexamethasone whilst 2 mL of dexamethasone is applied to the intervention group after hernia removal The investigators evaluated outcomes through back and leg NRS 48h, 2 weeks, 1 month and 3 months after surgery and ODI at 1 and 3 months post op

Interventions

DRUGIntervention Group

patients given intraoperative dexamethasone after hernia removal

OTHERControl group (Normal Saline) (C)

patients given 2mL saline

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

Adult patients (≥18 years) Undergoing single-level full-endoscopic lumbar discectomy Symptomatic lumbar disc herniation Ability to provide written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

Previous lumbar surgery at the same level Foraminal or extraforaminal disc herniations Multilevel surgery Intraoperative conversion to microdiscectomy Dural tear precluding epidural steroid application

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
NRS back and NRS leg	patients will be evaluated over a 3 month period postoperatively, first at 48 hours post surgery, then 2 weeks and 1 month after surgery.	back and leg pain measured by a numerical rating scale. the NRS is a 0 to 10 scale in which 10 means the highest pain score

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
ODI	patients will be evaluated over a 3 month period postoperatively, first at 1 month and then 3 months.	Oswestry disability index. he ODI is a 0 to 100 scale in which 100 represents the highest level of disability and 0 the lowest level of disability.

Countries

Portugal

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 14, 2026