Gastroscopy is a key diagnostic approach for upper gastrointestinal diseases, but pharyngeal passage of the gastroscopy often causes participants' discomfort. Topical pharyngeal anesthetics are routinely used to alleviate such discomfort. Dyclonine hydrochloride mucilage and tetracaine hydrochloride jelly are the two most commonly used topical pharyngeal anesthetics in clinical practice. Although both agents are widely used, their comparative efficacy in unsedated gastroscopy remains unclear, and high-quality evidence is scarce. This study aims to compare their anesthetic efficacy,participant comfort, and safety.
Age 18-75 years, of either sex;
Scheduled for an unsedated gastroscopy;
American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status class I or II;
Able to understand and cooperate with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) comfort assessment;
Known allergy to the study agents;
Severe cardiopulmonary disease or hepatic/renal insufficiency;
Long-term use of sedatives or analgesics, or history of alcohol abuse;
Pregnancy or lactation;