Abstract. Objective: To assess the effect of esmolol vs lidocaine to attenuate the detrimental rise in heart rate and blood pressure during intubation of patients with isolated head trauma. Methods: This was a prospective, double-blind, randomized study, performed at an urban, county teaching emergency department. Participants were 30 patients with isolated head trauma. Each underwent a standardized intubation protocol including esmolol or lidocaine, both at 2 mg/ kg. Results: Esmolol was used in 16 patients and lidocaine in 14. Mechanisms of injury included 12 assaults, 6 motor vehicle collisions, 6 falls, 4 auto-vspedestrian crashes, and 2 bicycle incidents. Mean ethanol level was 0.116 Ϯ 0.133 SD (range 0-0.482). Mean Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score was 7.9 Ϯ 4.0 SD. Cranial computed tomography (CT) hemorrhagic findings included 9 subdural/epidural hematomas, 6 cortex hemorrhages, and 2 multi-hemorrhages. Eleven patients received surgical intervention: 9 patients received a craniotomy, and 2 a ventricular catheter. The 2-minute time interval around intubation was used to assess each drug's efficacy. The mean difference change between groups for heart rate was 4.0 beats/min (95% CI = Ϫ17.7 to 9.7 beats/min), for systolic blood pressure was 1.3 mm Hg (95% CI = Ϫ27.8 to 30.4 mm Hg), and for diastolic blood pressure was 2.6 mm Hg (95% CI = Ϫ27.1 to 21.9 mm Hg). The power of this study was 90% to detect a 20-beat/min difference in heart rate, a 35-mm Hg difference in systolic blood pressure, and a 20-mm Hg difference in diastolic blood pressure. Conclusions: Esmolol and lidocaine have similar efficacies to attenuate moderate hemodynamic response to intubation of patients with isolated head trauma.