Comparative evaluation of incidence of post operative sore throat after nebulization with ketamine and magnesium sulfate in patients undergoing general anaesthesia requiring endotracheal intubation

Post-operative pharyngeal discomfort or sore throat is unavoidable outcome of endotracheal intubation. There are some pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods for prevention of postoperative sore throat. Nebulization is better than gargle or other methods as small volume of drug required for effect, easy way of administration, better patient compliance and most importantly no risk of aspiration as seen with gargle. In our study, 88 patients of ASA grading I- Ⅲ, aged between 18-65 years undergoing general anaesthesia on elective basis were randomly divided into two groups. 44 patients received pre-operative nebulization with 1ml ketamine(50mg) with 1ml normal saline while others received nebulization with 500mg Magnesium sulfate with 1ml normal saline. General anaesthesia was given. Number of intubation attempts, duration of laryngoscopy and duration of surgery were recorded. Patients were evaluated for post-operative sore throat, hoarseness of voice and cough at 0hr, 2hr, 4hr, 12hr, and 24hr in postoperative period. Incidence of post-operative sore throat, cough and hoarseness of voice was reduced statistically significantly with ketamine nebulization when compared to magnesium sulphate nebulization (p=<0.05). There were no systemic side effects with any drug. Ketamine nebulization was superior than magnesium nebulization in prevention of sore throat.