A comparative study of efficacy of intravenous dexmedetomidine and intravenous esmolol for attenuation of stress response during laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation

Background: The present study compares the effects of I.V. dexmedetomidine and I.V. esmolol on hemodynamic response occurring due to laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation in elective general surgery.Methods: A total of 60 patients aged 18-60 years, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I or II, either sex, scheduled for elective surgical procedures were included in this study. Patients were randomly allocated by chit method into two equal groups of 30 each, comprising of group dexmedetomidine (group D) 1 μg/kg diluted with 0.9% saline to 10 ml I.V. over 10min and group esmolol (group E) 1 mg/kg diluted with 0.9% saline to 10 ml I.V. given just before induction. Heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and mean arterial pressure were recorded at baseline, after 5 min of infusion, after induction and at 1, 3, 5 and 10 min after endotracheal intubation.Results: In group D, there was no statistically significant increase in HR and blood pressure after intubation at any time intervals, where as in group E, there was a statistically significant increase in blood pressure and heart rate after intubation at 1, 3, 5 and 10 min.Conclusions: Dexmedetomidine 1 μg/kg is more effective than esmolol for attenuating the hemodynamic response to laryngoscopy and intubation in elective surgical patients.