Comparison of the Magnesium Sulphate With Paracetamol Combination vs the Fentanyl With Lignocaine Combination in Attenuating the Hemodynamic Response During Laryngoscopy and Intubation: A Prospective, Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Study

Background and aims Laryngoscopy and intubation cause an increased sympatho-adrenergic pressor response, which can be detrimental to patients with coronary artery disease, hypertension, etc. Various drugs and manoeuvres have been tried to reduce the pressor response with acceptable results but the quest for the ideal drug still continues. Hence, we planned to compare the effects of magnesium sulfate with paracetamol and fentanyl with lignocaine on attenuating the hemodynamic responses due to direct laryngoscopy and intubation and to note the complications of these drugs. Methods We studied 60 adult patients of the American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I and II of either sex, scheduled for elective surgery under general anaesthesia. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. Group A received 25 mg/kg magnesium sulphate mixed with paracetamol 1 gram IV (100 ml) given over 10 minutes before induction and Group B received 2 mcg/kg fentanyl and 1.5 mg/kg lignocaine, 3 minutes before intubation. All patients were uniformly pre-medicated, induced, and intubated as per standard protocol. Heart rate (HR) and systemic arterial pressures were recorded at baseline, after study drug infusion, after induction, and 1, 3, 5, 10, and 15 mins after intubation. Hemodynamic parameters were compared using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). In the post-hoc tests, p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results We observed the mean pre-op HR (p = 0.161) and mean HR one-minute post-induction (p = 0.144). The percentage change from baseline at one-minute post-induction was 9.7 in Group A and 15.2 in Group B. We observed the mean pre-op mean arterial pressure (MAP) (p = 0.119) and mean MAP one minute post-induction (p = 0.585). The percentage change from baseline at one-minute post-induction was 3.3 in Group A and 2.8 in Group B. The percentage change from baseline was found to be within 15%, for HR in Group A and for systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and MAP in Group B. However, there was no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) between the mean HR, SBP, DBP, and MAP between the time points. Conclusion In our study, both the combinations of drugs, magnesium sulphate with paracetamol (Group A drugs) and fentanyl with lignocaine (Group B drugs) were found to be equally effective (i.e. neither group was superior to the other) in attenuating the hemodynamic response to laryngoscopy and intubation.