A randomized clinical trial has shown that only one preoperative dose of dexamethasone appeared to be beneficial for patients undergoing thyroidectomy.

Among 192 patients included in the study, those who had been administered dexamethasone before surgery had significantly lower rates of hypocalcemia and voice dysfunction after thyroidectomy, reported researchers in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. During the first 24 hours after surgery, 12.5% of the patients in the dexamethasone group developed hypocalcemia, compared to 36.5% in the placebo group. By the third day, 4.2% of the patients in the placebo group still had hypocalcemia while there were no cases in the dexamethasone group. Additionally, the rate of voice dysfunction at 24 hours after surgery was reported to be 25 percentage points lower among patients who were administered a prophylactic dose of dexamethasone, compared to the placebo group (8.3% vs 33.3%, respectively)… (Medpage Today)