EVALUATION OF POSTOPERATIVE AIRWAY RELATED ADVERSE EFFECTS BY USING INTRACUFF DEXAMETHASONE VERSUS INTRACUFF ALKALINISED LIGNOCAINE - RANDOMISED DOUBLE BLIND CONTROLLED STUDY

Background Securing airway with ETT is the gold standard for General anesthesia(GA).This method confers the protection of airway from aspiration of gastric contents and facilitates positive pressure ventilation. However, post-intubation airway-related adverse effects are known to be caused by endotracheal intubation like postoperative coughing on the tube, restlessness, hoarseness and sore throat. Therefore this study was undertaken to reduce post intubation complications. ObjectiveThestudy was conducted to compare intracuff dexamethasone and intracuff alkalinised lignocaine with respect to postoperative cough, hoarseness and sore throat scores. Methods A randomized double blind study was conducted in 200 patients of ASA I,II,III and age between 18 to 60 yrs undergoing surgeries under GA for more than 2 hours, Patients who need nasogastric tube or throat pack were excluded from study. A computer generated randomisation with double blind technique was used to distribute them into Group L and Group D 100 each. In Group L, ETT cuff was inflated with 2ml of 2% lignocaine +2-3ml of 7.5% Sodium bicarbonate and in Group D cuff was inflated with 2ml of dexamethasone + 2-3ml of Normal saline. Intracuff pressure was monitored throughout the surgery and was maintained below 28 cm H2O. ResultsThe severity of cough and hoarseness was found higher in group D at 2 hours which was statistically significant (P< 0.05). However, there was no significant difference at 8hrs,16hrs and 24hrs in both the groups. Conclusion We conclude that post operative airway related adverse effects are less when cuff was inflated with alkalinized lignocaine as compared to dexamethasone as liquid media.