Background: Cough reflex in response to extubation of the endotracheal tube is common; however, the effect of remifentanil on cough reflex is uncertain. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of lidocaine and remifentanil on cough reflex following extubation.Methods: Forty adult patients scheduled to undergo elective surgery in two hours were enrolled in this study. All patients received a standard anesthetic protocol. Following surgery, the patients were randomly divided into two groups, Group L (n = 20), which received 1.5 mg/kg of 2% lidocaine intravenously, and Group R (n = 20), which received 0.5 μg/kg remifentanil intravenously. Treatment was administered immediately after the patients opened their eyes, after which extubation was performed. We then evaluated breath holding and recorded the number of coughs at 5 minutes, 15 minutes and 30 minutes after extubation. In addition, we checked for sore throat 30 minutes after extubation.Results: The number of coughs was significantly lower in Group R than in Group L at 5 minutes after extubation. However, there was no significant difference in the number of coughs in Group R and Group L at any other times evaluated.Conclusions: There are no significant differences in suppression of the cough reflex in response to treatment with lidocaine and remifentanil.
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