Evaluation of prophylactic ketamine gargle for the attenuation of postoperative sore throat following general anaesthesia with orotracheal intubation: A prospective randomized control study

Background: Post-operative sore throat is well known complication of endotracheal intubation. Ketamine gargle is a newly proposed adjunct for reducing the incidence of POST in anesthesia so we planned a study to find out the effectiveness of ketamine gargle with normal saline for prevention of postoperative sore throat (POST) after orotracheal intubation and compared with normal saline. Material and Methods: Sixty patients aged between 18-60 years with American Society of Anaesthesiologists I and II, undergoing elective surgical procedures performed under general anaesthesia were randomly divided into two groups of 30 patients in each. Group S received 30 ml of normal saline and Group K received 40 mg of Ketamine in 30 ml of normal saline. All the patients were asked to gargle with the preparation for 30 sec after their arrival in the operation room 5 min before induction of anaesthesia. On arrival in the post-anaesthetic care unit ( 0 hr), at 2 hr, at 4 hr and at 24 hr thereafter, the patients were questioned by a blinded investigator whether he/she had experienced sore throat or any side-effect. Results: In Group S POST occurred more frequently as compared to Group K, at 0hr, 2hr, 4hr and 24 hr and significantly more patients suffered severe POST in Group S at 4hr and 24 hr compared with Group K (P<0.05). Conclusion: Ketamine gargle significantly attenuated POST, with no drug-related side effects.