AbstractObjective: Endotracheal intubation is an integral part of administration of anesthesia during surgical procedure. The time interval from suppression of protective reflexes by induction, to accomplishment of intubation is a critical period, during which regurgitation and aspiration of acid gastric contents can occur. Rapid sequence intubation is proved to be the technique of choice in these situations. Method: We studied 100 patients of either sex aged 18-70 years of ASA grade- 1 and 2, with mallampati grade 1-2 undergoing elective surgery. They were randomly allocated in two groups – 50 each to compare the intubating condition of inj. Rocuronium 0.9mg/kg in Group 1 to inj. Suxamethonium 2mg/kg in Group 2. Anaesthesia was induced with fentanyl 2 µg/kg and Propofol 2 mg/kg and intubating conditions were assessed 60s after the administration of the neuromuscular blocking drug. Intubating conditions were graded on a three-point scale as excellent, good or poor, the first two being considered clinically acceptable. Result: All patients were successfully intubated in both groups. Overall intubating conditions in group 1 & 2 were excellent in 94% and 100% patients while good in 06% and 00% patients respectively with not quite statistically significant difference (p>0.05). Conclusion: It is concluded that rocuronium 0.9 mg/kg can be used as an alternative to suxamethonium 2.0 mg/kg as part of a rapid sequence induction provided there is no anticipated difficulty in intubation.
Keywords: Intubating Condition; Rocuronium; Suxamethonium; Rapid Sequence Induction.