Kuriyama A, et al. - Researchers analyzed data from randomised controlled trials assessing the efficacy and safety of topical application of benzydamine (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) to prevent postoperative sore throat in adults undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia. They used a random effects model to pool the data. With no significant adverse events, the use of benzydamine was found to be related to a decreased incidence of postoperative sore throat (by high quality evidence), but not to significantly reduced severity, when compared with control patients who did not receive analgesia. Benzydamine vs lidocaine was also found to be related to an attenuated incidence of postoperative sore throat.