Background
Over the years, sevoflurane has been proven to be the most effective inhalational anesthetic for induction and maintenance of general anesthesia in pediatrics. However, one of the downsides of utilizing sevoflurane anesthesia in pediatrics is emergence agitation (EA). A variety of drugs have been evaluated for prophylaxis against the occurrence of EA. Both magnesium and ketamine were evaluated in controlling this phenomenon; however, the usefulness of using intraoperative magnesium and ketamine infusions in preventing EA is still debatable.
Methods
Fifty-two children aged 4–7 years who were having elective lower abdominal or pelvic surgeries under sevoflurane anesthesia were enrolled then allocated randomly into one of two groups ( = 26 each). The magnesium group (M) included 26 patients who received intravenous (IV) loading dose of magnesium 15 mg/kg before the surgical incision followed by IV infusion 10 mg/kg/h over the duration of surgery, while the ketamine group (K) included 26 patients who received an IV loading dose of ketamine 1 mg/kg before the surgical incision, then IV infusion 1 mg/kg/h over the duration of surgery. For each patient, the agitation score (Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium [PAED] scale) and pain score, as well as the time to endotracheal tube (ETT) removal, regain of mental orientation, and transfer from the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) to ward were all documented.
Results
Intraoperative magnesium sulfate infusion showed a lower PAED score on immediate arrival to PACU than intraoperative ketamine infusion, with less time to tracheal extubation, recovery of mental orientation, and discharge from PACU with a value below 0.001, while there was no statistical significance between both groups as regards PAED score after 30 min in PACU, pain score, or perioperative vital data.
Conclusions
Magnesium sulfate was found superior to ketamine in lowering the severity of the postoperative agitation in pediatric patients undergoing abdominal or pelvic surgeries under sevoflurane anesthesia. Also, patients restored their consciousness and mental orientation faster in the magnesium group compared to ketamine. This has increased the PACU stay in the ketamine group.