Attenuation of hemodynamic response to skull pin head holder insertion: Intravenous clonidine versus intravenous lignocaine infusion

Insertion of skull pin induces a significant increase in heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP) and intracranial pressure. Alpha 2 agonist clonidine and intravenous (i.v.) lignocaine are effective in attenuating stress response. Local infiltration of pin site and scalp block with lignocaine are commonly used techniques for prevention of hemodynamic response to skull pin insertion. We compared the effectiveness of i.v. clonidine infusion and i.v. lignocaine infusion in suppressing the hemodynamic response to skull pin head holder insertion.