A comparison of labetalol, acebutolol, and lidocaine for controlling the cardiovascular responses to endotracheal intubation for oral surgical procedures.

Arterial blood pressure and pulse rate changes following tracheal intubation were studied in 80 patients undergoing oral surgical procedures who received an etomidate/suxamethonium anesthetic induction sequence. Three treatment groups and a control group were used. Intravenous labetalol (1 mg/kg), acebutolol (0.25 mg/kg), lidocaine (2 mg/kg), and saline (1 ml), injected prior to anesthesia, were compared with respect to their effect on the hemodynamic consequences of direct laryngoscopy followed by the passage of an endotracheal tube. A pre-induction dose of labetalol was found to be more effective than acebutolol and lidocaine in attenuating the pressor response to instrumentation and intubation. Labetalol should prove most useful for those patients at risk from the transient hypertension and tachycardia following instrumentation and intubation.