KETAMINE NEBULIZATION FOR POSTOPERATIVE SORE THROAT

Introduction: Postoperative sore throat (POST) is a sensation of discomfort usually expressed by patients during the postoperative recovery period after surgeries under general anesthesia (GA). The incidence of POST is estimated at 21% to 65% in different studies. Ketamine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, already used in nebulized form, to attenuate POST, due to its anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of this study was to verify the use of nebulized ketamine in reducing the incidence of postoperative sore throat. Methods: The search was carried out with articles published between 2015 and 2023 to ensure that the most recent research on the subject was included. In addition, we checked the bibliographic references of the selected publications in order to identify additional research that was missing during the searches. The descriptors used were Ketamine, gargle, postoperative, sore throat or pharyngitis, and airway management. The databases were compiled from the following platforms: LILACS/BVS, MEDLINE/PUBMED, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Scielo. Results: All included studies with 825 participants provided data on the incidence of sore throat 24 hours after surgery. Nebulized ketamine was associated with a reduced incidence of postoperative sore throat compared with non-analgesic and analgesic methods. Conclusion: This review verified the use of ketamine administered through nebulization in reducing postoperative sore throat. Based on the available evidence, ketamine has been shown to be effective in preventing POST without local and systemic adverse effects.