Efficacy of ketamine gargle 40 mg and benzydamine HCl 0.075% in reducing post intubation sore throat

Abstract

Sore throat is a frequent complication in postoperative patients under general anesthesia which
is performed with endotracheal tube intubation. This effect occurs because of mucosal irritation
and damage and airways inflammation due to a lubricant gel on laryngoscopy or an emphasis of
endotracheal tube cuff. This study was conducted to compare the efficacy of ketamine 40 mg
gargle with benzydamine HCl 0.075% gargle in reducing post intubation of sore throat prior to
the insertion of endotracheal tube. A prospective randomized double blind controlled clinical
trial enrolled patients aged 18-50 years with physical status of ASA I and II who
underwent elective surgery with general anesthesia in Dr. Sardjito General Hospital, Yogyakarta.
Subjects were divided into 2 groups. 50 patients of group A were given 30 mL ketamine gargle
40 mg and 51 patients of group B were given 30mL benzydamine HCl gargle 0.075%. The sore
throat was measured whenever the patients were fully awake, 2 hours and 4 hours post-extubation
with Canbay score (no pain, mild pain, moderate pain and severe pain). There was a significant
difference (p<0.01) in sore throat incidence of both groups especially at fully awake and 2
hours post-extubation; 20% in group A versus 66.7% in group B at fully awake and 16% in
group A versus 58,8% in group B at 2 hours of post-extubation. However, there was not any
significant difference in sore throat incidence of both groups at 4 hours post-extubation
(p=0.394). In conclusion, giving ketamine gargle 40 mg 5 minutes before intubation is more
efficient in reducing sore throat after endotracheal tube-general anesthesia compared with
benzydamine HCl 0.075% at fully awake and 2 hours post-extubation.

Keywords : endotracheal tube - sore throat - ketamine gargle - benzydamine HCl gargle