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

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.