Comparison between ketamine and hyoscine for the management of postoperative catheter-related bladder discomfort: A randomized controlled double-blind study

Background and Aim: Postoperative catheter-related bladder discomfort (CRBD) can be a distressing complication for patients in whom a urinary catheter was inserted intraoperatively and is accompanied with patients' dissatisfaction. This trial investigated the efficacy of hyoscine and ketamine on treatment of postoperative CRBD in patients undergoing various surgeries. Material and Methods: This was a prospective randomized, double-blind study, which included 60 American Society of Anesthesiologists Class I-II male patients undergoing elective nonurological operations requiring intraoperative urinary catheterization under general anesthesia after ethical approval and written informed consent. Patients were allocated randomly into two groups: The hyoscine group (H group) (n = 30) received 20 mg of hyoscine intravenously and ketamine group (K group) (n = 30) received 0.25 mg/kg of ketamine intravenously immediately after the occurrence of CRBD. The severity of CRBD was assessed at 0, 1, 2, and 4 h postoperatively. Adverse effects of hyoscine and ketamine were also examined. Data were summarized using mean ± standard deviation, and comparisons between groups were done by unpaired t-test. For comparison of serial measurements within each group, ANOVA was used. Results: There was a significant difference between the two groups in the severity of CRBD measured by visual analog scale score only 30 min after drug administration where it was higher in ketamine group (44.50 ± 7.70) compared to hyoscine group (36.00 ± 8.55) (P < 0.001), otherwise there was no significant difference at other time points between the two groups, also there was a significant rise in heart rate in hyoscine group but no significant difference in mean arterial pressure. Conclusion: Intravenous hyoscine 20 mg is more effective in control of CRBD than ketamine (0.25 mg/kg) in the first 30 min; later on they have the same effect.