A comparative study on the efficacy of dexmedetomidine and tramadol on post-spinal anesthesia shivering

Background: Shivering is a common postanesthesia adverse event with multiple etiologies. At present tramadol is a widely used drug for the control of shivering. However, tramadol may cause a lot of nausea and vomiting. Hence, the need to find a better drug with less of side effects. The aim of this...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Saudi journal of anaesthesia 2017-01, Vol.11 (1), p.2-8
Main Authors: Kundra, Tanveer, Kuthiala, Gaurav, Shrivastava, Anupam, Kaur, Parminder
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anesthesia
Body temperature
Cardiac arrhythmia
Comparative analysis
Dexmedetomidine
postoperative nausea and vomiting
shivering
tramadol
Drug therapy
Eardrum
Esophagus
Heat
Muscle function
Nausea
Original
Patients
Studies
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Summary:Background: Shivering is a common postanesthesia adverse event with multiple etiologies. At present tramadol is a widely used drug for the control of shivering. However, tramadol may cause a lot of nausea and vomiting. Hence, the need to find a better drug with less of side effects. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of dexmedetomidine and tramadol in the treatment of post-spinal anesthesia (SA) shivering as well as to compare their side-effect profile. Materials and Methods: This prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial was conducted in a tertiary care hospital. A total of 100 patients having shivering after SA were enrolled, out of which fifty received dexmedetomidine (Group A) and 50 received tramadol (Group B). The response rate, time to cessation of shivering and side effects (if any) was noted. All the results were analyzed using Student's t-test and Chi-square test. Results: All patients who received dexmedetomidine as well as tramadol had cessation of shivering. The time to cessation of shivering was significantly less with dexmedetomidine (174.12 ± 14.366 s) than with tramadol (277.06 ± 23.374 s) (P < 0.001). The recurrence rate of shivering with dexmedetomidine was less (6%) as compared to tramadol (16%). Nausea and vomiting was found to be higher in the case of tramadol. On the other hand, dexmedetomidine caused moderate sedation (modified Ramsay sedation score = 3-4) from which the patient could be easily awoken up. Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine offers better results than tramadol with fewer side effects.
ISSN:1658-354X
0975-3125
DOI:10.4103/1658-354X.197344