RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Postoperative sore throat (POST) frequently hampers the positive feedback of ambulatory surgery in spite of so many measures. This study was carried out to compare the efficacy of preoperative magnesium sulfate and aspirin gargle in preventing POST after ambulatory surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It was a prospective, randomized, and double-blinded study. Fifty-six adult patients of either sex, aged 25-50, of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I-II, scheduled for day care surgery, were randomly allocated to Group A ([n = 28] receiving aspirin gargle [325 mg tablet]) and Group M ([n = 28] receiving magnesium sulfate [20 mg/kg] gargle). In both groups, the medications were made into 20 mL of (5% dextrose) solution. Patients were asked to gargle with this mixture for 30 s, 15 min before induction of anesthesia. Episodes of POST were measured at 0, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, and 16 h postoperatively with a four-point scale. RESULTS: Both groups had a similar demographic profile with comparable oxygen saturation, hemodynamics, and consciousness status at immediate postoperative period. Number of patients with sore throat was significantly lower in magnesium group compared to aspirin group at 0 h (P = 0.0376), 2 h (P = 0.0429), 4 h (P = 0.0394) after the operation. POST pain score (visual analog scale) was significantly (P < 0.05) lower in magnesium group compared to aspirin group after the operation at 0, 2, 4 h after operation. CONCLUSION: It is evident that preoperative magnesium sulfate gargle significantly attenuated the incidence and severity of POST, especially in the early postoperative period, with no adverse effects in patients undergoing day care surgery under general anesthesia.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The purpose of ambulatory facilities is to relieve the pressure on hospital beds and to make the process of surgery more convenient for the patient. One way of assessing the success of a ambulatory unit is to look at the number of patients requiring admission to hospital. Thus the author investigated the rate, distribution, and cause of admission cases to get help to reduce the admission rates. METHODS: Total ambulatory surgeries were 15,512 cases for the period from March 1995 to January 1998. The medical records were reviewed and the patients admitted to hospital instead of being discharged home were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The overall mean rates of admissions for the period was 0.76 percent. The principal reasons for admissions were requestion by surgeon (0.53%), wish of patients (0.12%), surgery related admissions (0.08%) and anesthesia related admissions (0.03%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: With proper assessment and selection of patients and surgical procedures, the admission rates of ambulatory surgery will be reduced acceptably low. Thus the efficiency of ambulatory unit will be increased. But it will reduce the use rate of ambulatory unit. For increasing the use rate of ambulatory unit, our hospital is broadening the patients' selection criteria.
