Serial Intralesional Steroid Injection for Subglottic Stenosis: Systemic Side Effects and Impact on Surgery-Free Interval

OBJECTIVES: In-office serial intralesional steroid injections (SILSIs) have become a commonly used treatment for subglottic stenosis. We characterized the impact of SILSIs on the time between operating room visits and incidence of glucocorticoid systemic side effects. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case series. SETTING: Academic tertiary care center. METHODS: All patients with subglottic stenosis receiving SILSIs at 1 institution from 2016 to 2020 were included. Surgery-free interval was compared using paired t tests. Side effect incidence was calculated with Kaplan-Meier methodology for visualization. RESULTS: Nineteen patients and 207 procedures were included. The majority of patients were White (95%) and female (95%) and had idiopathic subglottic stenosis (53%). Mean surgery-free interval for all patients was 8.7 months (95% CI, 5.6-11.8) before initiating SILSIs. Of 11 patients with calculable surgery-free interval, 10 experienced improvement, with a mean surgery-free interval increase of 4.6 months (95% CI, 2.4-6.7). Seven patients have not required surgery since initiation of SILSIs, with a mean follow-up time of 28 months (95% CI, 25-31). Noncutaneous systemic side effects occurred at a mean 3.2 months (95% CI, 2.4-4.0) from first injection and included Cushing’s syndrome, increased intraocular pressure, central serous chorioretinopathy, and new insulin requirement in the setting of diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Ninety-one percent of patients who initiated SILSIs and had a subsequent return to the operating room experienced a mean 4.6-month increase in surgery-free interval. Systemic side effects of glucocorticoids occurred in 32% of patients after initiating SILSIs. This should be considered in preprocedure counseling and side effect monitoring during treatment.