Comparing the Effect of Zinc-impregnated Pharyngeal Packs with Conventional Methods on the Level of Sore Throat Among Patients Undergoing Septorhinoplasty

BACKGROUND: Postoperative sore throat (POST) syndrome commonly occurs after general anesthesia and surgery, leading to patient discomfort. OBJECTIVES: This essay aims to assess the effect of using zinc-impregnated packs on sore throat and post-op nausea and vomiting after general anesthesia among patients undergoing septorhinoplasty. METHODS: The sampling method was based on the patients’ gradual referral, and encompassing was performed using the randomized block. The participants were divided into four groups by random allocation technique considering the type of pharyngeal packs: (1) normal saline-impregnated vibril, (2) normal saline-impregnated gauze, (3) zinc solution-impregnated vibril, (4) zinc solution-impregnated gauze. The sample size required to compare the incidence of sore throat after septorhinoplasty was determined to be 220 patients. RESULTS: Out of 220 patients undergoing septorhinoplasty, 55 were assigned to each group. According to A.S.A., most of the patients belonged to class I. In total, 5.5% and 15.1% had a history of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and smoking, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference among the four groups in terms of the sore throat immediately (P = 0.227), two h (P = 0.527), four h (P = 0.505), six h (P = 0.564) and 24 h (P = 0.481) after surgery. Results of pairwise comparison revealed no statistical difference between the groups receiving zinc and other groups. There was no statistically significant difference between the four groups in terms of the severity of sore throat. A statistically significant difference was observed between the gauze + zinc and gauze + normal saline groups regarding the incidence of nausea two hours after surgery (P = 0.0045). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that applying topical zinc to the pack had no significant effect on reducing sore throat. However, there was a significant difference between the groups receiving zinc solution-impregnated gauze and normal saline-impregnated gauze in terms of the severity of nausea two h after surgery.