Combined use of esmolol and nicardipine to blunt the haemodynamic changes following laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation*

Abstract

We examined the effect of different combinations of esmolol and nicardipine upon the circulatory response to tracheal intubation. One hundred patients were randomly allocated into five groups of twenty to receive pretreatments of saline or different combinations of esmolol (0.5 or 1.0 mg x kg(-1)) and nicardipine (15 or 30 microg x kg(-1)). Significant tachycardia persisted over a 5-min period after intubation in all five groups compared with baseline levels (p < 0.05). Patients receiving esmolol 1.0 mg x kg(-1) and nicardipine 30 g x kg(-1) showed no significant change in systolic blood pressure after tracheal intubation compared with baseline and significant lower peak systolic blood pressure than those receiving saline (p = 0.023).