Intravenous Administration of Hypertonic Glucose Solution to Prevent Dizziness in Patients Undergoing Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Under General Anesthesia: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background and objective: Dizziness is a common complication of gastrointestinal endoscopy under general anesthesia. Dizziness is primarily caused by a lack of energy and blood volume following fasting and water deprivation. Hypertonic glucose solution (HGS) is an intravenous energy replenishment, that increases blood volume due to its hyperosmotic characteristics and can be directly absorbed from blood circulation. This study aimed to HGS can prevent dizziness after gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Methods: This was a double-blind, randomized, controlled study. Eligible patients were randomly allocated into two groups based on the intravenous agent administered before gastrointestinal endoscopy: Group A, saline (0.9%; 20 mL); and group B, HGS (50%; 20 mL). Overall, 840 patients were included in the statistical analysis. The scores and incidence of dizziness were assessed.

Results: The dizziness score were higher in group A than in group B (1.92 ± 0.08 vs. 0.92 ± 0.06; p < 0.01). The incidence of mild dizziness and moderate-to-severe dizziness was significantly lower in group B than in group A (40.10% vs. 51.78% and 3.10% vs. 19.72%, respectively; p < 0.01). The incidence and score of dizziness were significantly lower in males than in females (30.81% vs. 51.82% and 0.64 ± 0.08 vs. 1.12 ± 0.08, respectively; p < 0.01) after pretreatment with HGS.

Conclusion: Pretreatment with HGS effectively prevents dizziness after gastrointestinal endoscopy under general anesthesia. The mechanism of action is unclear but might be related to body energy replacement and an increase in blood volume following HGS administration.

Keywords: Hypertonic glucose; dizziness; gastrointestinal endoscopy; general anesthesia; hyperosmotic characteristics; intravenous.