To assess the effect of preoperative prophylactic corticosteroid use on short-term outcomes after oncologic esophagectomy.

Previous studies have shown that prophylactic corticosteroid use may decrease the risk of respiratory failure following esophagectomy by attenuating the perioperative systemic inflammation response. However, its effectiveness has been controversial, and its impact on mortality remains unknown.

Data of patients who underwent oncologic esophagectomy between July 2010 and March 2019 were extracted from a Japanese nationwide inpatient database. Stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), propensity score matching, and instrumental variable analyses were performed to investigate the associations between prophylactic corticosteroid use and short-term outcomes, such as in-hospital mortality and respiratory failure, adjusting for potential confounders.

Among 35,501 eligible patients, prophylactic corticosteroids were used in 22,620 (63.7%) patients. In-hospital mortality, respiratory failure, and severe respiratory failure occurred in 924 (2.6%), 5440 (15.3%), and 2861 (8.1%) patients, respectively. In stabilized IPTW analyses, corticosteroids were significantly associated with decreased in-hospital mortality (odds ratio 0.80 [95% confidence interval 0.69-0.93]), respiratory failure (0.84 [0.79-0.90]), and severe respiratory failure (0.87 [0.80-0.95]). Corticosteroids were also associated with decreased postoperative length of stay and total hospitalization costs. The proportion of anastomotic leakage did not differ with the use of methylprednisolone. Propensity score matching and instrumental variable analysis demonstrated similar results.

Prophylactic corticosteroid use in oncologic esophagectomy was associated with lower in-hospital mortality as well as decreased respiratory failure and severe respiratory failure, suggesting a potential benefit for preoperative corticosteroid use in esophagectomy.