English

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Postoperative Sore Throat (POST) is a common complication that is unresolved in patients undergoing endotracheal intubation, which is the foremost cause of trauma to the air way mucosa. The reported incident of POST varies from 21% to 65%. We compared the effectiveness of ketamine gargle with placebo in preventing POST after endotracheal intubation. METHODS: A prospective randomized controlled single blind study was conducted involving 60 patients of ASA grade I and II in the age group of 18-60 years of either sex undergoing elective surgeries under general anaesthesia, after obtaining informed, written consent. Patients were randomly allocated in to two groups of 30 patients each. Group C, water 30ml; Group K, ketamine 50mg in water 29ml. Patients were asked to gargle this mixture for 30 seconds, 5 minutes before the induction of anaesthesia. In the post anaesthesia care unit at 4, 8 and 24 h, POST was graded on a four-point scale (0-3): 0 = no sore throat, 1 = mild sore throat (complains of sore throat only on asking), 2 = moderate sore throat (complains of sore throat on his/her own), 3 = severe sore throat (change of voice or hoarseness, associated with throat pain), RESULTS: Incidence of POST was higher in Group C compared with Group K, at 4, 8 and 24hr. significantly more patients suffered severe POST in Group C, 23.3% at 4hr, 10% at 8hr and 3.3% at 24hr compared to Group K (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Ketamine gargle significantly reduces the incidence and severity of POST after endotracheal