Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Tracheal intubation and direct laryngoscopy are powerful noxious stimuli that can elicit sever hemodynamic responses. These hemodynamic responses should be attenuated by appropriate use of premedication, smooth induction of anesthesia and rapid tracheal intubation. Gabapentin and pregabalin have been suggested in several studies to be efficient. Gabapentin is an antiepileptic drug and a structural analogue of gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) but it does not act through GABA receptors and pregabalin, is also an antiepileptic agent. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of gabapentin and pregabalin as premedication for attenuation of hemodynamic response to laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation.
Methods: In a prospective double blinded randomized clinical trial, during April 2015 to March 2016 in Urmia Imam Khomeini Hospital, a total of ninety normotensive adult consented patients, candidate to elective abdominal surgery aged 20-50 years, American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA) class I, of both gender were randomized into three groups. Patients in group I received oral placebo, group II received oral gabapentin 900 mg and group III patients received oral pregabalin 150 mg two hours prior to induction of anesthesia. Anesthetic technique was same in three groups and all groups were assessed for hemodynamic changes such as heart rate, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure, after the premedication, before and after induction of anesthesia, and 1, 3 and 5 minutes. after laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation.
Results: Significant increase in heart rate and systolic blood pressure and diastolic arterial pressure was observed in placebo group after tracheal intubation, while statistically significant attenuation of hemodynamic changes was seen in gabapentin and pregabalin groups. (P=0.001) No adverse outcome was reported in the study groups.
Conclusion: Oral gabapentin premedication is effective for control of hemodynamic pressor response of laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation. The study data showed that the pregabalin have the same effect. Pregabalin and gabapentin are both useful and safe for control of hemodynamic pressor response as premedication.

Background: Amphotericin B is one of the most useful therapeutic modalities for the treatment of patients with invasive fungal infections, in spite of serious side effects, namely kidney injury, electrolyte imbalances, and infusion-related reactions. The goal of this study was to assess the different aspects of premedication practice and the incidence and types of infusion-related reactions in patients receiving amphotericin B.
Methods: This observational study was performed on 70 hospitalized patients who received amphotericin B in different departments of two university hospitals, affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, from January 2017 to February 2018. Information on physicians’ performance regarding premedication administration for amphotericin B, including the types and doses of medications administered prior to amphotericin B infusion, as well as patients’ clinical data including infusion-related side effects were collected and then analyzed in comparison with the standard practice guidelines.
Results: The study population consisted of 70 patients with the mean age of 51.6±18.3 years, who received amphotericin B for 8.2±3.5 days. From 70 evaluated patients, 21 patients (30%) had encountered the infusion-related reactions, including chills, fever, urticaria, headache, and hypotension. These side effects were evident in 19 patients (27%) who received no premedication and 2 patients (3%) who received only one drug as premedication, before amphotericin B administration. Twenty patients (28%) experienced chills, fever and headache, while 7 patients (10%) had nausea and vomiting during amphotericin B infusion. Hydrocortisone 50-200 mg, was the most prescribed agent for premedication (in 67% of patients), while chlorpheniramine 10 mg (in 50% of patients) and promethazine 10 mg (in 35% of patients) were the second and third prescribed ones, respectively.
Conclusion: In this study, the patients who received no or only one drug as premedication experienced infusion-related side effects. This emphasizes the necessity for standard premedication practices to prevent this type of adverse reactions. Considering the higher price of liposomal form of Amphotericin-B, if prescribed correctly, even the conventional form would be an effective and tolerable treatment for invasive fungal infections.

Background: A major problem in surgical procedures is postoperative pain. The effectiveness of prescribing preoperative tizanidine in reducing postoperative pain is not clear. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of tizanidine as a premedication in reducing pain after septoplasty.
Methods: This double blind clinical trial study was performed in 71 patients aged from 18 to 50 years, undergoing septoplastic surgery for the first time, who were classified in ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) classes 1 and 2 in the Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) Department of Shafa Hospital, in Kerman, Iran from April 2014  to March 2015. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups using numbers from a randomization table. A dosage of 4 mg of tizanidine was administered orally to the patients two hours before the surgery (septoplasty) in the intervention group. In the control group, placebo pills which were 100 mg vitamin B1 were prescribed. The severity of pain was measured and recorded after 4 and 8 hours, and the morning after the surgery.
Results: 62 patients (87.32%) were male and 9 (12.68%) were female. The mean age of the subjects was 24.6±7.5 years. The two groups were similar in regard to age (P=0.54), but the duration of surgery was different in the two groups (P=0.038) and was longer in the group that received tizanidine. The mean of pain was different between the two groups, after 4 hours and was significantly higher in the group that received tizanidine (P=0.043). The mean of pain was not significantly different between the two groups after 8 hours (P=0.95) or one day after surgery (P=0.79).
Conclusion: Although some researchers have reported that taking tizanidine before some surgeries may reduce postoperative pain, in this study the administration of tizanidine before surgery was not effective in reducing pain after septoplasty.