Effects of Pre-treatment with Ketamine and Tourniquet Application on the Prevention of the Pain Induced by Propofol Injection: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Introduction: The pain induced by propofol injection is a common adverse complications caused by propofol, which is ranked seventh among the 33 clinical symptoms of anesthesia. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of pre-treatment with ketamine and tourniquet inflation on the pain induced by propofol injection.Methods: This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 120 patients with the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification I. The patients were assigned to six groups. In groups one and four, tourniquet was inflated above the angiocatheter. In groups two and five, ketamine was injected 30 seconds before propofol injection with no tourniquet. The patients in groups three and six were injected with propofol alone. To assess the severity of pain, verbal rating scores were used. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 20.Results: In total, 74 male and 46 female patients were examined. In terms of pain severity, the lowest level of pain was experienced with the injection of ketamine before propofol with the use of a tourniquet (groups one and four). Based on the injection site, the total pain scores were higher with the injection of propofol into the veins on the dorsum of the hand. In addition, the mean pain score in groups one, two, four, and five was significantly lower compared to groups three and six (P< 0.05)Conclusion: According to the results, use of ketamine, especially with a tourniquet, could alleviate the pain induced by propofol injection.