To assess the effect of oral melatonin premedication on propofol requirement for induction in entropy guided general anaesthesia- A randomised double blind study

Introduction: Premedication plays an important role in providing anxiolysis prior to surgery, reduce the intraoperative requirement of intravenous anesthetics and manage perioperative pain. Melatonin premedication has been shown to allay pre-operative anxiety, produce postoperative sedation and reduce analgesic requirement. This study aims to assess the effect of oral melatonin premedication on propofol requirement for induction of anaesthesia. Materials and Methods: A randomized double blind study was performed on 70 patients of American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) I and II status after obtaining ethical committee clearance. Patients received 3 mg oral melatonin (group M) or placebo (group C) as premedication 60 min prior to surgery (n= 35 in each group). The requirement of propofol for induction was noted using entropy. Patients were assessed for preoperative anxiety using Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HAM) and peri-operative sedation using Ramsay sedation scale (RSS). Results: The demographic variables were comparable between the 2 groups. There was significant difference between the mean propofol dose requirements for induction in group M and C i.e., 0.96 ± 0.1mg/kg and 2 ± 0.26 mg/kg respectively, with p Conclusion: Oral melatonin premedication reduces the induction dose of propofol. Keywords: Melatonin, Anxiety, Sedation, Propofol consumption.