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Postanesthetic Shivering

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Thermotherapy for Neoplasia, Inflammation, and Pain

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Summary

After general anesthesia, shivering is a common complication in both normothermic and hypothermic patients. Electromyographically, but not clinically, it is possible to distinguish between thermoregulatory shivering and nonthermoregulatory shivering. The second might be caused by postoperative pain or residual concentrations of volatile anesthetics producing spinal hyperreflexia. Postanesthetic shivering mainly contributes to patient discomfort and, moreover, also to morbidity by increasing oxygen demand and elevating intraocular or possibly intracranial pressure. Prevention or therapy of postanesthetic shivering includes the maintenance of normothermia, adequate pain therapy, and the administration of opioids, especially meperidine, α2-agonists, or the 5-HT3 antagonist dolasetron.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 110, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Matthias Bock & Johann Motsch

Authors
  1. Matthias Bock
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  2. Johann Motsch
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Physiology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, 852-8523, Nagasaki, Japan

    Mitsuo Kosaka

  2. Health Research Foundation, 606-8225, Kyoto, Japan

    Tsutomu Sugahara

  3. Clinic of Rheumatology, Physical Medicine, and Balneology, University of Giessen, Bad Nauheim, Germany

    Klaus L. Schmidt

  4. Max Planck Institute for Physiological and Clinical Research, W.G. Kerckhoff Institute, Bad Nauheim, Germany

    Eckhart Simon

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© 2001 Springer Japan

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Bock, M., Motsch, J. (2001). Postanesthetic Shivering. In: Kosaka, M., Sugahara, T., Schmidt, K.L., Simon, E. (eds) Thermotherapy for Neoplasia, Inflammation, and Pain. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-67035-3_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-67035-3_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo

  • Print ISBN: 978-4-431-67037-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-4-431-67035-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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