THE EFFICACY OF MAGNESIUM SULPHATE ON EMERGENCE AGITATION IN ADULTS FOLLOWING NASAL SURGERIES

Abstract

Background: Emergence agitation (EA), although short-lived, is potentially harmful to the patient and the recovery staff. In the postoperative care unit, an agitated patient requires more nurses to control his abnormal movement and apply restrains that could result in bruises of his extremities. Objectives: The objective of the study was to investigate efficacy of intraoperative magnesium sulphate on prevention of EA in adults undergoing nasal surgeries under sevoflurane anesthesia. Primary outcome of the study was to compare incidence of EA between magnesium and control group. The secondary outcome was to assess pre-operative hemodynamic parameters, sedation scores, emergence time and quality of recovery in both study groups. Patients and Methods: The present study was conducted in the Al-Hussein University Hospital, following approval from the Ethics Committee of the hospital. This study included 70 adult patients of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I and II between 20 and 40 years of age of both sexes, non-smokers, with BMI less than or equal to 30, posted for nasal surgery under general anesthesia in which nasal packing on each side was used postoperatively. Thorough pre-anesthetic evaluation was done. Results: In patients undergoing nasal surgeries, intraoperative administration of magnesium decreased the incidence and severity of postoperative agitation, ameliorated postoperative pain and shortened stay in the PACU Conclusion: The intraoperative administration of magnesium sulphate in patients undergoing nasal surgeries decreased postoperative agitation, pain intensity and pethidine consumption in the early postoperative period. Intraoperative administration of saline did not decrease post operative agitation, pain intensity and pethidine consumption in the early postoperative period.