How effective is intra-cuff lignocaine in reducing post-operative sore throat and emergence cough: a comparative study

Background: Sore throat and cough during emergence are common side effects of general anaesthesia and its incidence is reported by 30-70% of patients after tracheal intubation. Also, not to forget the hemodynamic fluctuations associated with it, adds on to the magnitude of the problem. Thinking of a simple and cost-effective way to tackle this problem, this study was undertaken to determine the benefits of using intra-cuff lignocaine to prevent post intubation sore throat and emergence cough. The objective of this study to assess the efficacy of intra-cuff 2% lignocaine solution, in reducing emergence cough and post-operative sore throat after extubation in general surgery patients intubated for 2-4 hours.Methods: A prospective observational study where 100 ASA I and II status patients divided into 2 groups of 50 each was compared. In one group ETT cuff was filled with air, while in the other group, 2% plain lignocaine solution was used. Side effects like sore throat, coughing and blood pressure changes were assessed. Chi square and t-tests were used to compare the findings.Results: Among those patients where intra-cuff lignocaine was used, only 27.5% complained of sore throat and 12.5% had emergence cough, whereas among those patients where intra-cuff air was used, 72.5% had post-operative sore throat and 87.5% of patients had cough on emergence.Conclusions: This study proves that 2% intra-cuff lignocaine is an effective method in reducing post-operative sore throat and emergence cough and thereby beneficial in controlling the hemodynamic changes associated with emergence.