BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Tonsillectomy is a very common surgical procedure in otolaryngology. Steroid is often given to decrease postoperative morbidity from the procedure. This study was designed to determine the intraoperative and postoperative efficacy of the intravenous administration of dexamethasone sodium phosphate, the long-acting steroid, before or after tonsillectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty children aged between 3 to 15 years were divided into three groups. Twenty children received intravenous dexamethasone sodium phosphate (1 mg/kg up to 15 mg) before undergoing sharp dissection tonsillectomy (group I). Another twenty children received it after operation (group II). The third group was control and did not receive the intravenous dexamethasone sodium phosphate (group III). Intraoperatively blood loss, surgical and anesthesia time were checked. After the operation, each child was evaluated for pain, oral intake, vomiting, body temperature, and bleeding. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences noted in blood loss, surgical time, anesthesia time, pain score, oral intake, vomiting, and postoperative bleeding among the three groups of patients. CONCLUSION: The results showed that a single dose of the intravenous dexamethasone sodium phosphate did not affect the postoperative morbidity in children undergoing sharp dissection tonsillectomy.
Administration, Intravenous ; Anesthesia ; Blood Loss, Surgical ; Body Temperature ; Child ; Dexamethasone* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Otolaryngology ; Sodium ; Tonsillectomy* ; Vomiting

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a heparin binding growth factor specific for endothelial cells, is both a potent enhancer of vascular permeability and an angiogenic growth factor. The purpose of this study was to investigate the semi-quantitative expression levels of multiple VEGF mRNA splicing variants in endotoxin-induced otitis media with effusion (OME) of rat. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We instilled endotoxin and saline as a control into the middle ear cavity of the rat, and middle ear mucosa were taken at 0 h, 1 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, 1 d, 3 d, 7 d, and 14 d. The levels of splicing variants of VEGF transcripts were evaluated by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS: Expression of VEGF164 mRNA and VEGF120 mRNA was first identified at 1 h after endotoxin instillation and was dramatically increased between 6 h and day 1 and then progressively decreased by day 7. Expression level of VEGF120 mRNA was 1.34+/-0.27 fold higher than that of VEGF164, and the expression level of VEGF164 was 3.89+/-0.97 fold higher than that of VEGF188. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that VEGF may be primarily responsible for the increased vascular permeability in OME and that it seems to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of OME.
Animals ; Capillary Permeability ; Ear, Middle ; Endothelial Cells ; Heparin ; Mucous Membrane ; Otitis Media with Effusion* ; Otitis Media* ; Otitis* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rats* ; RNA, Messenger* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A*