Ketamine gargle for attenuating postoperative sore throat.
BACKGROUND
Tracheal intubation is a foremost cause of trauma to the airway mucosa, resulting in postoperative sore throat (POST) with reported incidences of 21-65%. We compared the effectiveness of ketamine gargles with placebo in preventing POST after endotracheal intubation.


METHODS
Forty-six, ASA I-II, patients undergoing elective surgery for septorhinoplasty under general anaesthesia were enrolled in this prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blind study. Patients were randomly allocated into two groups of 23 subjects each: Group C, saline 30 ml; Group K, ketamine 40 mg in saline 30 ml. Patients were asked to gargle this mixture for 30 s, 5 min before induction of anaesthesia. POST was graded at 0, 2, 4, and 24 h after operation on a four-point scale (0-3).


RESULTS
POST occurred more frequently in Group C, when compared with Group K, at 0, 2, and 24 h and significantly more patients suffered severe POST in Group C at 4 and 24 h compared with Group K (P<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Ketamine gargle significantly reduced the incidence and severity of POST.
Canbay
O
O
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anaesthesiology, Hacettepe University, 06100 Sihhiye/Ankara, Turkey. ozgurcanbay@yahoo.com
Celebi
N
N
Sahin
A
A
Celiker
V
V
Ozgen
S
S
Aypar
U
U
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000009:adverse effects*; D007649:Ketamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D009067:Mouthwashes; D010612:Pharyngitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D012225:Rhinoplasty; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016037:Single-Blind Method
D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D009067:Mouthwashes; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D007649:Ketamine