Inhalation of Ketamine in Different Doses to Decrease the Severity of Postoperative Sore Throat in Surgeries under General Anesthesia Patients

Postoperative sore throat (POST) occurs in 21%-65% of patients. Nebulization of ketamine reduces POST. The aim of this study is to see the effectiveness of nebulized ketamine in different doses to reduce POST and observe adverse effects, if any. This was a prospective, randomized, and double-blind controlled trial. One hundred and fifty patients of the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status Classes I and II, in the age group of 18-60 years, of either sex, undergoing surgery under general anesthesia were randomized into three groups. Patients had nebulized with 5 ml solution (Group K1 - 1 ml of ketamine [50 mg/ml] +4 ml normal saline, Group K2 - 0.5 ml of ketamine [50 mg/ml] +4.5 normal saline, and Group S - 5 ml normal saline). Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative hemodynamic monitoring was done. The POST monitoring was done at 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h postoperatively. POST was graded on a four-point scale (0-3). Chi-square test using MSTAT software for POST and ANOVA test using INDOSTAT software for hemodynamics were used in this study. The overall incidence of POST in the present study was 29.33% (44/150). In Group S, the incidence of POST was observed to be 46% (23/50). In Group K1, the incidence was 20% (10/50), and in Group K2, it was 22% (11/50) ( ≤ 0.05), and intraoperative vital signs were more stable at all time intervals. We concluded that both doses (25 and 50 mg) of nebulized ketamine were almost equally effective in preventing POST, with no adverse effects.