Turan A, Cohen B, Whitlock RP, et al. - In this post hoc retrospective study of a large clinical trial, researchers examined the link between the intraoperative use of methylprednisolone and postoperative pain relief, assessed by a composite of pain scores and opioid use, during the initial 24 hours following cardiac surgery. Participants were adults undergoing cardiac surgery who were randomized 1:1 to receive 2 intraoperative doses of 250 mg IV methylprednisolone or placebo. There were 251 eligible patients; methylprednisolone and placebo were received by 127 and 124 patients, respectively. They found the non-inferiority of methylprednisolone to placebo on pain with difference in mean (CI) pain scores of −0.25. However, there was no noninferiority of methylprednisolone to placebo in terms of opioid consumption. Experts concluded that methylprednisolone administration did not result in a beneficial analgesic effect post-cardiac surgery. Currently, no data indicating a significant analgesic advantage of methylprednisolone in adults having cardiac surgery was found.