NEBULIZED TETRACAINE ATTENUATES THE HEMODYNAMIC-RESPONSE TO TRACHEAL INTUBATION

Background: Local anesthetics, principally lidocaine, are commonly adm inistered in an attempt to blunt the hemodynamic response to tracheal intubation. There are no prior investigations evaluating the use of te tracaine in this setting. Methods: In the present study, 30 female pat ients (ASA I-II) scheduled for elective surgery were randomized to rec eive inhaled nebulized tetracaine 0.5 mg/kg or nebulized saline. Subse quently, anesthesia was induced with thiopental 5 mg/kg and succinylch oline 1.0 mg/kg. Sixty seconds later, the trachea was intubated. Vital signs were recorded at intubation and at 1-minute intervals for the n ext 5 minutes. Results: Patients treated with tetracaine had a signifi cantly (P<0.05) lower mean heart rate at intubation and all subsequent times. Similarly, there were significant differences (P<0.05) in mean arterial pressure between tetracaine and control patients at all time s post-intubation except at 2 minutes. The inhalation of nebulized tet racaine produced no adverse side effects. Conclusion: We conclude that nebulized tetracaine significantly attenuates the hemodynamic respons e to tracheal intubation.