Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: The present study was conducted for evaluating and comparing low doses of intravenous esmolol and labetalol for attenuation of haemodynamic response to laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation. Materials & methods: 40 Patients undergoing general anaesthesia with endotracheal intubation were enrolled. Patients were be randomly allocated into two groups containing twenty patients each:Group receiving esmolol (Group A): Injection esmolol HCl 0.5 mg/kg body weight diluted to 10 ml with 0.9% saline given IV 5 min before intubation over 60seconds, and Group receiving labetalol (Group B): Injection labetalol HCl 0.25 mg/kg body weight diluted to 10 ml with 0.9% saline given IV 5 min before intubation over 60 s. On arrival of patient in the operation theatre, monitors were attached to record the vital parameters. Laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation with appropriately sized tube was done. Readings of hemodynamic parameters were taken as baseline value (BV) and at different time intervals. All the results were recorded in Microsoft excel sheet and were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS software. Results: Labetalol was accompanied by minimal attenuation of SBP, DBP and HR in comparison to esmolol. Tachycardia seen in 4 percent and 8 percent of the patients of group A and group B respectively. Conclusion: Haemodynamic alterationsare usually observed during laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation. Labetalol is an effective and safe drug to be used for attenuation of sympathomimetic responses to endotracheal intubation.