Cotimparave Evaluation of Oral Alprazolam, as Premedication, on Controlling Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Patients during Surgery

One of the major challenges in adult surgery is hypertension. Hypertensive patient are in danger of myocardial ischemia, increasing blood pressure in recovery room, kidney injury and cerebral artery damage. Regarding the previously reported positive effect of alprazolam in decreasing this complication, we decided to evaluate its efficacy in hypertensive patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia. The present randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2014 in Alzahra Hospital, Isfahan, Iran. Study subjects (age range between 54 and 76 years) were candidates for elective surgery under general anesthesia. Patients were randomly divided into 2 groups, intervention and control. Control group received no drug and intervention group received alprazolam tablet (0.5 mg) before the surgery. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, pulse oximetere, and O2 saturation during the surgery and pain severity, extubation time, recovery time and the dose of analgesic drugs after the surgery were evaluated and compared between the groups. Increasing blood pressure in the first 40 minutes of surgery (P = 0.001), pain severity (P = 0.012) and the dose of analgesic drugs (P = 0.001) were significantly less in intervention group compared to the control group. According to our results, alprazolam has an optimal efficacy in controlling blood pressure in hypertensive patients undergoing surgery and reducing pain severity in recovery room. In the absence of contraindications, it could be used as a prophylactic treatment in this group of patients.