effect of piracetam on the anaesthetic recovery in geriatric patients

ABSTRACT

Piracetam is a nootropic agent claimed to possess a protective effect on cerebral nerve cells against hypoxia. The present study included 80 geriatric patients undergoing suprapubic prostatectomy under general anaesthesia. They were divided into two equal groups test and control. Patients of the test group received piracetam, 15 gm. added to 500 ml lactated Ringer solution - as an I.V. infusion at the start of surgery. The anaesthetic technique was standardized and the study conducted on a double-blind basis. Subjective as well as objective assessment of the state of consciousness cortical activity and neurovegetative stability was carried out in the post-anaesthetic period. Piracetam administration was found to reduce the post-anaesthetic recovery time. Recovery was rapid, smooth, lucid and free of neuropsychic complications