Effectiveness of a Preoperative Single Dose Intravenous
Dexamethasone in Reducing the Prevalence of
Postoperative Sore Throat after Endotracheal Intubation
Sakchai Ruangsin MD*, Thunchanok Wanasuwannakul MD**,
Ngamjit Pattaravit MD**, Wisara Asim RN**
Affiliation :
* Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
** Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
Objective : To evaluate the effectiveness of two-different doses of prophylactic dexamethasone intravenous administration in
reducing the prevalence of postoperative sore throat following general endotracheal anesthesia.
Material and Method: All patients (105 cases) of different procedures of elective surgery scheduled to have general
anesthesia performed with endotracheal intubations were included. The subjects randomized into three pre-operative
intravenous substance/drug administrations, group I (35 cases) with normal saline 2 ml, group II (35 cases) with
dexamethasone 4 mg, and group III (35 cases) with dexamethasone 8 mg, respectively. The prevalence of sore throat and its
severity was assessed, using visual analogue scale (VAS), scores of 0 to 10; 0 = no pain, and 10 = most severe pain.
Results : Among three groups, the duration of surgery, and intubation-induced trauma had no statistical significance. The
prevalence of sore throat at 1-hour/24-hour postoperative was 48.6/48.6%, 54.3/28.6%, and 54.3/42.9% in group I, II, and
III respectively, and without statistical significance.
Conclusion : The intravenous dexamethasone had no significant effectiveness against postoperatively sore throat after
endotracheal intubation.
Keywords : Dexamethasone, Endotracheal intubation, Postoperative sore throat
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