Comparing the effectiveness of Betamethasone Gel with Lidocaine Gel local application on endotracheal tube in preventing post-operative sore throat (POST)

Objective: To see whether betamethasone gel or lidocaine gel is superior in reducing the incidence of postoperative sore throat after tracheal extubation. Methods: This clinical study was conducted at the Nishtar Hospital and Medical College, Multan, Pakistan, from July to December 2015, and comprised patients who were set to undergo elective surgery under general anaesthesia. The patients were divided into two equal groups. In group 1, endotracheal tube was lubricated with betamethasone gel (0.05%). In group 2, endotracheal tube was lubricated with 4.0% lidocaine gel. SPSS 20 was used for data analysis. Generalised estimating equation was used to see the association between the treatment methods and severity of sore throat over time. Results: Of the 120 patients, there were 60(50%) each in the two groups. The mean intubation time was 5.58 +/- 1.31 hours in group 1and 5.43 +/- 1.21 hours in group 2. Besides, 7(11.7%) patients developed mild sore throat and 3(5.0%) moderate sore throat in group 1, whereas 13(21.7%) patients developed mild sore throat, 7(11.6%) moderate and 2(3.3%) severe sore throat after one hour of extubation (p=0.04). After 6 hours, there were 2(3.3%) patients with moderate and 1(1.7%) with severe sore throat in group 1 compared to 8(13.3%) with moderate and 4(6.7%) with severe sore throat in group 2. After 24 hours, 5(8.3%) patients developed mild and 2(3.3%) moderate sore throat in group 1 compared to 14(23.7%) patients with mild sore throat, 5(8.5%) with moderate and 1(1.7%) with severe throat in group 2. Generalised estimating equation analysis showed a significant positive association between application of lidocaine gel on endotracheal tube and severity of sore throat (p<0.001). Conclusion: Local application of betamethasone gel was associated with reduced risk of post-operative sore throat as compared to local application of lidocaine gel on the endotracheal tube.