Efficacy of Intravenous Lidocaine in Preventing Laryngospasm in Children Undergoing Tonsillectomy

Background: Laryngospasm is a well-known problem typically occurring immediately following tracheal extubation. Lidocaine is known to inhibit airway reflexes. Pediatric laryngospasm is an anesthetic emergency. It is a relatively common phenomenon that occurs with varying frequency dependent on multiple factors. Treating laryngospasm by using lidocaine is controversial. Aim: To compare the efficacy of intravenous lidocaine with placebo for prevention of laryngospasm in children undergoing tonsillectomy. Methods: This was a randomized controlled trail conducted in the department of Anesthesia, Mayo Hospital Lahore. Total 150 patients were included in the study and randomly divided into 2 groups. Each group contained 75 patients each. In Group-P patients were given placebo and in Group-L patients were given IV Lidocaine. Informed consent was taken from parents of each patient in both treatment groups. Relevant information was recorded on a well-defined Performa. Data entry and analysis was done by using SPSS 11.5. Results: Average age of all 150 patients was 8.33 +/- 2.33 years. Average age of patients in Group-P and in Group-L was 8.09 +/- 2.37 and 8.56 +/- 2.32 years respectively. In placebo group laryngospasm was present in 20% and in Lidocaine group 8% of the patients had laryngospasm. Efficacy of Lidocaine in controlling laryngospasm was 92% where as efficacy of placebo group was 80%. Lidocaine shows greater efficacy for controlling laryngospasm. Conclusion: On the basis of obtained results it is concluded that Lidocaine effectively controls laryngospasm in children undergoing Tonsillectomy.