RESUMO
Objectives: To compare the effect of oral Lorazepam 1 mg or oral alprazolam 0.5 mg given at night before surgery on cognitive function in patients undergoing elective general surgery receiving general anaesthesia. Methodology: In a prospective double-blind manner 128 patients aged 30 to 50 years belonging to ASA I and II scheduled for elective surgery under general anaesthesia were randomly divided into two equal groups. Group A (n=64) received oral lorazepam 1 mg and Group B (n=64) received oral alprazolam 0.5 mg). Cognitive function were assessed by 1. Rey’s Auditory Verbal Learning test, (RAVLT) test to assess the ability to form new verbal memory, 2. Trail Making Test (TMT) part A to assess psychomotor ability and 3. Digit Span Test to assess short term verbal memory. These were assessed thrice: 1) during preoperative assessment, 2) 30 minutes before induction and 3) 30 minutes after reversal of general anaesthesia, Results: Oral alprazolam affected cognitive processing speed more than oral lorazepam and the association was statistically significant (P-value <0.05) in one of the three tests performed. Other two tests showed statistically insignificant results. Conclusion: Lorazepam might be a better anxiolytic premedicant than alprazolam.