Objectives: To evaluate the influence of a single intraoperative injection of methylprednisolone on short-term haematological
parameters following surgical removal of mandibular third molars.
Material and Methods: Fifty-two patients with indications for surgical removal of bilateral impacted mandibular third
molars were included in a randomized, split-mouth and double-blinded study design. Each molar were randomly allocated
into one of following four groups: 20 mg methylprednisolone, 30 mg methylprednisolone, 40 mg methylprednisolone and
placebo. Peripheral blood samples were obtained before and three days after surgery. Haematological parameters involving
haemoglobin, white blood cell count and C-reactive protein (CRP) were evaluated and expressed as mean changes. Level of
significance was 0.05. Furthermore, outcomes were correlated for age, sex, smoking and time of surgery.
Results: There were no significant differences in postoperative haematological parameters with different doses of
methylprednisolone compared with placebo. Peripheral blood samples revealed decreased level of haemoglobin and increased
level of leucocytes and CRP in each group. Smokers displayed a significant lower level of haemoglobin and CRP compared
with non-smokers (P < 0.05) and level of eosinophils decreased significantly with increasing age (P < 0.05).
Conclusions: This study indicates that a single intraoperative injection of methylprednisolone seems not to cause suppression
of short-term haematological parameters compared with placebo following surgical removal of mandibular third molars.