Effect of Pretreatment of Lignocaine Versus Midazolam in the Prevention of Etomidate Induced Myoclonus

Background: The myoclonus after induction of anesthesia with etomidate can lead to increased risk of regurgitation and aspiration. We conducted this study to compare the effectiveness of midazolam and lidocaine for the prevention of etomidate induced myoclonus. Methodology: This randomized controlled trial was done in the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi from January-June 2015 after approval of hospital ethical committee. Informed consent (written) was taken from 224 patients. Patients were allocated into 2 equal groups randomly with the help of computer-generated numbers. Two minutes after induction with etomidate, Group A got 1 ml of 2% lidocaine, and one ml (1 mg) of midazolam was given to Group B. Myoclonus was evaluated in the following one minute, after which 0.5 mg/kg of succinylcholine was given to the patient to facilitate endotracheal intubation. Time of onset of induction was marked by loss of eyelash reflex. Myoclonus was recorded at 20, 40, and 60 seconds. Drug was found to be effective if there was no myoclonus within one minute of etomidate induction. Analysis of data was done using SPSS 17. Results: Lignocaine was effective in preventing myoclonus in 55.40% of patients and Midazolam prevented it in 69.60%. The variation between the results of the groups was found significant statistically. (P< 0.05) Conclusion: Both midazolam and lignocaine are effective in preventing the occurrence of myoclonus associated with etomidate. However, midazolam is the more effective of the two drugs. Keywords: Etomidate, Lignocaine, Midazolam, Myoclonus