Basheer Ahmed Khan 1 , Mahtalath 2 , M. D. Sirajuddin
BACKGROUND Laryngoscopy and intubation are associated with cardiovascular changes like tachycardia, increase in blood pressure and pulmonary artery pressure and arrhythmias and ever since several methods have been suggested to alleviate such complications including the administration of dexmedetomidine and magnesium sulfate. This study compares the effects of intravenous administration of dexmedetomidine and magnesium sulfate on unwanted haemodynamic responses following laryngoscopy and intubation in elective surgery cases. MATERIALS AND METHODS This prospective randomised clinical trial was conducted on 100 ASA-I and ASA-II candidates who received dexmedetomidine and magnesium sulfate randomly before intubation. Heart rate, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were noted at 0, 3, 5 and 10 minutes after intubation. RESULTS Systolic and diastolic blood pressure in both groups when compared to the preoperative values showed that after giving the study drug there was significant fall in SBP and DBP. Both magnesium sulfate and dexmedetomidine controlled the systolic and diastolic blood pressure to laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation effectively. Heart rate values were statistically and significantly lower in dexmedetomidine group. The increase in heart rate was highly significant in magnesium sulfate group when compared to dexmedetomidine group during laryngoscopy and intubation. CONCLUSION Our study concludes that dexmedetomidine and magnesium sulfate were equally effective in attenuating the stress response to laryngoscopy and intubation when administered 10 minutes prior to intubation.
