The effect of low dose nalbuphine or ketamine in the prevention of emergence agitation after sevoflurane anesthesia in children undergoing tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy

ABSTRACT Background Children’s agitation increases following sevoflurane anaesthesia. With indefinite results, nalbuphine and midazolam have been used as preventative treatments. Patients and Methods This study involved 90 children with American Society of Anesthesiologists score I-II and aged 4–10 who had sevoflurane-based adenotonsillectomy. Each child was randomly assigned to one of three groups; group N, group K, and group S. Nalbuphine was given to Group N at 0.1 mg/kg, ketamine was given to Group K at 0.25 mg/kg, and saline was given to Group S at equivalent volume. Sevoflurane was discontinued after the procedure, and the study drugs were given. The emergence agitation (EA) scale was used in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) to measure agitation upon admission (T0), after 5 min (T5), 10 min (T10), 15 min (T15), 20 min (T20), 25 min (T25), and 30 min (T30). Clinical trials. gov ID: NCT05176119. Results In the PACU, the incidence of EA was significantly lowered in N (6.6%) and K Group (16.6%) compared to S group (33%) with (p = 0.044), the duration in PACU was significantly prolonged in S in comparison to K and N groups (p-value = 0.011), more patients experienced postoperative pain in S group compared to N group and K group (p-value < 0.001). Conclusion Children who had sevoflurane-induced adenotonsillectomy can avoid emergence agitation with ketamine 0.25 mg/kg or nalbuphine 0.1 mg/kg.