A gurgling or rattling sound sometimes made in the throat of a dying person, caused by loss of the cough reflex and passage of the breath through accumulating mucus.

Conclusion Topical anesthesia of tracheal mucosa using compound lidocaine cream may reduce the cough reflex and breath holding during extubation, and inhibit the stress reaction.

It is readily absorbed by the GI (gastrointestinal) tract, from where it freely crosses the blood-brain barrier. It acts mainly on the central nervous system by depressing the cough reflex.