Benzydamine gargle versus ketamine gargle for postoperative sore throat

Abstract

Postoperative sore throat is usually accepted as a minor complication, however it contributes to patient dissatisfaction. The primary aim of this study is to compare the effects of two different therapies for postoperative sore throat. The secondary aim is to determine the correlation of smoking and postoperative sore throat via visual analogue scale scores. The patients diagnosed as “postoperative sore throat” were detected from hospital database. The files of the patients with severe sore throat after tracheal intubation for laparoscopic cholecystectomy, were analyzed retrospectively. The patients treated with either benzydamine or ketamine gargle were included into the study. Age, sex and smoking habits, visual analogue scale scores at the 1st, 24th and 48th hour and the chosen therapy were recorded according to nurse care records.122 patients were included into the study. There were no significant differences for age, sex, smoking habits and visual analogue scale scores in the postoperative first hour among the therapy groups. Mean visual analogue scale was 2.8±0.83 in ketamine group and 3.3±0.99 in benzydamine group at the postoperative 24th hour (p < 0.05). At postoperative 48th hour, it was 1.06±0.756 in ketamine group and 1.5±0.718 in the benzydamine group (p < 0.05), At all time points, mean visual analogue scale were similar among smoking and non-smoking patients (p > 0.05). In this study, the ketamine gargle was more effective than the benzydamine gargle for attenuation of postoperative sore throat. Moreover, no significant effects of smoking were detected with regard to the POST incidence.