The prophylactic effect of intranasal Dexamethasone in reducing postoperative sore throat. A novel clinical trial.

Abstract

Background: Sore throat is the most common complication of tracheal intubation and is an unpleasant complication in patients who undergo general anesthesia with tracheal intubation. Considering the importance of reducing the incidence of postoperative sore throat (POST) and increasing patient satisfaction, in this study we discussed the effectiveness of intranasal dexamethasone in reducing the incidence of POST in patients under general anesthesia. Methods: This double-blind randomized clinical trial study was carried out on 96 patients over 18 years of age who were candidates for elective eye surgery from July 2019 to March 2020 at Faiz Hospital in Isfahan. The patients were divided randomly into two groups of 48 to receive intranasal Dexamethasone (IND) or intranasal normal saline (INS), administration of drugs was immediately after endotracheal intubation. Demographic data, the presence of sore throat, cough, and hoarseness during the stay in the recovery as well as in the ward (up to 24 hours) were recorded and analyzed by SPSS software version 23. Results: The results of the current study showed that percentage of sore throat, cough and hoarseness during the stay in the recovery room and 2 hours after entering the ward in the IND group was significantly lower than the INS group (P value<0.001). but at 6, 12, and 24 hours after the stay in Ward, despite the lower frequency of these symptoms in the IND group compared to the INS group, there was no significant difference between the two groups (P value>0.05). Discussion: This is an innovative clinical trial that evaluate the prophylactic effect of intranasal Dexamethasone in reducing postoperative sore throat. This research shows that intranasal administration of dexamethasone can reduce post-operative sore throat, hoarseness, cough and improve the quality of stay in the recovery room. The trial was registered with the identification number IRCT20180416039326N7 (date: 31/5/2019) in the Clinical Trials Registration Center of Iran.