Medicolegal Considerations Regarding Steroid Use in Otolaryngology: A Review of the Literature

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Medicolegal Considerations Regarding Steroid Use in Otolaryngology: A Review of the Literature Via otol rhinol Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2021 Jun 19:34894211026737. doi: 10.1177/00034894211026737. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To review the literature on corticosteroid use and provide recommendations on patient counseling and/or consent to promote judicious prescribing and reduce the incidence of corticosteroid-related lawsuits. METHOD: A conventional literature search of PubMed on corticosteroid-related medicolegal cases was undertaken. Search terms included "medi colegal," "otolaryngology," and "adrenocorticosteroids." A medical subjects headings search with the keywords "adrenal cortex hormones" and "jurisprudence" was also performed. RESULTS: Corticosteroids have been reported as the third most frequent medication involved in malpractice claims, oftentimes leading to disproportionately costly payments. The most common specialties found to be involved in corticosteroid related medicolegal cases included dermatology (12%), primary care (10%), and neurologists or neurosurgeons (6%). The most common complications encountered were avascular necrosis (39%), changes in mood (16%), infection (14%), and vision changes (14%). Only a few cases corticosteroid-related litigation regarding otolaryngologists were identified. More frequent causes for otolaryngology claims were intraoperative complications, deficits in diagnoses, and failures or delays in treatment. Three medicolegal pitfalls regarding corticosteroid use were identified from this rev iew included: (1) insufficient advising, (2) lack of or incomplete informed consent, and (3) the significance of the patient-physician relationship. CONCLUSION: Despite the scarcity of corticosteroid-related medicolegal literature pertaining to otolaryngologists, corticosteroids are one of the most widely prescribed medications in the field of otolaryngology and have been shown to have a high rate of medical malpractice claims in medicine. Counseling and consenting the patient, as well as developing a strong physician-patient relationship, are integral processes in addressing any adverse effects occurring during therapy, and may also help to decrease the incidence and success of litigation against otolaryngologists. PMID:34151596 | DOI:10.1177/00034894211026737 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.