Premedication for day-case surgery: double-blind comparison of ketobemidone + dimethylaminodiphenylbuten (A-29) and morphine + scopolamine.

A double-blind comparison of the effect of Ketogan (ketobemidone and A-29, an anticholinergic and spasmolytic agent) and morphine + scopolamine as premedication was performed in 113 women admitted for abortion and in 114 women admitted for gynaecological dilatation and curettage. Anaesthesia was thiopentone and nitrous oxide and oxygen, occasionally supplemented with enflurane. It was found that 1 ml morphine + scopolamine (10 mg + 0.4 mg) was more sedative than 1 ml ketogan (ketobemidone 5 mg + A-29 25 mg). After ketogan there was less nausea and dryness of the mouth before induction of anaesthesia than after morphine + scopolamine. Ketogan had the same tranquillizing effect but less hypnotic effect preoperatively than morphine + scopolamine. During the 3-h postoperative observation period the patients premedicated with ketogan woke up significantly sooner and had more pain than those given morphine + scopolamine. More patients required postoperative antiemetics in the ketogan-premedicated group than in the morphine + scopolamine-premedicated group.