Methods: This study was a randomised, double-blind clinical trial conducted on 162 children undergoing adenotonsillectomy surgery. The participants were randomly divided into three groups of receiving ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) (N = 54), ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) + propofol (1 mg/kg) (N = 54) and ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) + midazolam (0.01 mg/kg) (N = 54) 10 min before the end of the operation. At the time of the patients' entry into the post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) and at intervals of 5 min, 10 min and 20 min after that, consciousness, mobility, breathing, circulation and SpO2 were recorded. Modified Aldrete recovery score (MARS), the objective pain score (OPS) and Richmond agitation-sedation scale (RASS) were also evaluated.

Results: At the time of entrance to the PACU and 5 min later, the ketamine-midazolam and ketamine-propofol groups had lower RASS scores than the ketamine group (P < 0.001); after 10 min and 20 min, the ketamine-propofol group showed the lowest RASS score (P < 0.001). Ketamine-propofol group had a significantly lower MARS score at all-time points (P < 0.001). Recovery time was the longest for the ketamine-propofol group (P = 0.008).