Gargling with ketamine attenuates the postoperative sore throat

Postoperative sore throat (POST) is a common complication of anaesthesia with endotracheal tube that affects patient satisfaction after surgery. Therefore, this complication remains to be resolved in patients undergoing endotracheal intubation. The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of ketamine gargles with placebo in preventing POST after endotracheal intubation. Forty patients scheduled for elective surgery under general anaesthesia were randomized into: Group C, water 30 ml; Group K, ketamine 50 mg in water 29 ml. Patients were asked to gargle this mixture for 40 seconds, 5 minutes before induction of anaesthesia. POST was graded at 4, 8 and 24 hours after operation on a four-point scale (0-3). In the Control group POST occurred more frequently, when compared with patients belonging to Ketamine group, at 4, 8, and 24 hours and significantly more patients suffered severe POST in Control group at 8 and 24 hours compared with Ketamine group (P<0.05). We demonstrated that gargling with ketamine significantly attenuated POST, with no drug-related side effects were observed.