Intraoperative nerve monitoring is associated with a lower risk of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury: A national analysis of 17,610 patients

Am J Surg. 2021 Feb;221(2):472-477. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2020.10.013. Epub 2020 Oct 16.

Abstract

Background: Based on current evidence, the benefit of intraoperative nerve monitoring (IONM) in thyroid surgery is equivocal.

Methods: All patients who underwent planned thyroid surgery in the 2016-2018 ACS NSQIP procedure-targeted thyroidectomy dataset were included. Multivariable regression analyses were performed to examine the association between nerve monitoring and recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury while adjusting for patient demographics, extent of surgery, and perioperative variables.

Results: In total, 17,610 patients met inclusion criteria: 77.8% were female, and the median age was 52 years. IONM was used in 63.9% of cases. Of the entire cohort, 6.1% experienced RLN injury. Cases with IONM use had a lower rate of RLN injury compared to those that did not use IONM (5.7% vs. 6.8%, p = 0.0001). After adjustment, IONM was associated with reduced risk of RLN injury (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.59-0.82, p < 0.0001).

Conclusions: Nationally, IONM is used in nearly two thirds of thyroid surgeries. IONM is associated with a lower risk of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury.

Keywords: Intraoperative nerve monitoring; Recurrent laryngeal nerve; Thyroidectomy.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Datasets as Topic
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Intraoperative Complications / epidemiology*
  • Intraoperative Complications / etiology
  • Intraoperative Complications / prevention & control
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Monitoring, Intraoperative / methods*
  • Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve
  • Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Injuries / epidemiology*
  • Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Injuries / etiology
  • Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Injuries / prevention & control
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Assessment / statistics & numerical data
  • Thyroid Gland / innervation
  • Thyroid Gland / surgery
  • Thyroidectomy / adverse effects*
  • United States / epidemiology