Kanjirakkattu Chandran Suja1 , Shini Subhadra Arjun2 , Puthenvila Raghavan Ushakumari3 , Vishakhamparambil Haridas Haritha4
BACKGROUND Laryngoscopy and intubation during surgery are often associated with an increase in cardiovascular stress and intraocular pressure. This may result in increased complications in patients with hypertension or glaucoma conditions. In the study, we looked into the oral efficacy of gabapentin on the cardiovascular responses and intraocular pressure induced by endotracheal intubation. METHODS 142 patients undergoing thyroidectomy were randomly assigned to gabapentin treated group and control group. The Gabapentin treated group was given 800mg Gabapentin orally two hours before endotracheal intubation. The heart rate, blood pressure, and intraocular pressure were recorded before intubation and at different time intervals (1 min, 3 min, 5 min, and 10 min) after post-intubation. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was also calculated. RESULTS Gabapentin treated group showed a significant decrease in heart rate compared to the control group during the post-intubation intervals. In gabapentin treated group, no significant increase in diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, and arterial pressure were observed compared to the control group. Moreover, the MAP and intraocular pressure were also found to be reduced in the gabapentintreated group. CONCLUSIONS The study provides an insight into the efficacy of gabapentin in reducing the cardiovascular response and intraocular pressure in connection with laryngoscopy and intubation. Gabapentin can thus act as a life-saving drug during surgical procedures in patients with severe hypertension and patients with impending perforation in ocular injury.
