Effects of propofol on intracranial pressure and prognosis in patients with severe brain diseases undergoing endotracheal suctioning.

BACKGROUND To investigate whether the administration of intravenous propofol before endotracheal suctioning (ES) in patients with severe brain disease can reduce the sputum suction response, improve prognosis, and accelerate recovery. METHODS A total of 208 severe brain disease patients after craniocerebral surgery were enrolled in the study. The subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n = 104) and the control group (n = 104). The experimental group was given intravenous propofol (10 ml propofol with 1 ml 2% lidocaine), 0.5-1 mg/kg, before ES, while the control group was subjected to ES only. Changes in vital signs, sputum suction effect, the fluctuation range of intracranial pressure (ICP) before and after ES, choking cough response, short-term complications, length of stay, and hospitalization cost were evaluated. Additionally, the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) prognosis score was obtained at 6 months after the operation. RESULTS At the baseline, the characteristics of the two groups were comparable (P > 0.05). The increase of systolic blood pressure after ES was higher in the control group than in the experimental group (P   0.05). At 6 months after the surgery, the GOS scores were significantly higher in the experimental than in the control group (4-5 points, 51.54% vs. 32.64%; 1-3 points, 48.46% vs. 67.36%; P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the length of stay and hospitalization cost between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS Propofol sedation before ES could reduce choking cough response and intracranial hypertension response. The use of propofol was safe and improved the long-term prognosis. The study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry on May 16, 2015 (ChiCTR-IOR-15006441).