A single bolus dose of esmolol in the prevention of intubation-induced tachycardia and hypertension in an ambulatory surgery unit.

The efficacy of a single bolus dose of esmolol in the prevention of intubation-induced tachycardia and hypertension was studied in a double-blind manner. Thirty patients from the Ambulatory Surgery Unit at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center were prospectively randomized to receive a placebo, 100 mg of esmolol, or 200 mg of esmolol immediately prior to induction (2.5 to 3.0 minutes before intubation). The groups were similar in demographic characteristics and with regard to preoperative blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR). Anesthetic management was standardized for all patients. Esmolol 100 mg (1.4 +/- 0.3 mg/kg) and 200 mg (2.6 +/- 0.7 mg/kg) significantly (p less than 0.05) blunted the maximum increases in HR and BP following intubation. The average maximum HR increase in the placebo group was 40% as opposed to 16% in the esmolol 100 mg group and 14% in the esmolol 200 mg group. Both esmolol groups blunted the tachycardic response over a 4-minute postintubation time period. The average maximum BP increase was 47% in the placebo group versus 22% and 19% in the esmolol 100 mg and esmolol 200 mg groups, respectively. There were no significant differences between the two esmolol groups. This study demonstrates the efficacy of a single bolus dose of esmolol in blunting the tachycardic and hypertensive responses to laryngoscopy and intubation in an ambulatory surgery setting.