A Study to Observe Effect of Ketamine Gargle in Post Operative Sore Throat and Hoarseness of Voice Following Endotracheal Intubation in Patients Undergoing Surgery Under General Anaesthesia.

Background. Intubation results in injury to airway mucosa or vocalcords which may be the contributing factor in post operative sore throat, hoarseness of voice. Tracheal intubation is a foremost cause of trauma to the airway mucosa, resulting in postoperative sore throat (POST) with reported incidences of 22–64%. We compared the effectiveness of ketamine gargles with placebo in preventing POST after endtracheal intubation. Methods. Fifty ASA I–II, patients undergoing elective surgery for general anesthesia were enrolled in this prospective, randomized, study. Patients were randomly allocated into two groups of 25 subjects each: Group K, ketamine 50 mg in saline 29 ml. Patients were asked to gargle this mixture for 30s, 5 min before induction of anesthesia. POST and hoarseness of voice was graded at 0, 2, 4, and 24 h after operation on a four-point scale (0–3) Results. POST occurred more frequently in GroupC, when compared with GroupK, 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). hoarseness of voice occurred more frequently in Group C, when compared with Group K, at 0, 2, and 24 h Conclusions. Ketamine gargle significantly reduced the incidence and severity of POST and hoarseness of voice.