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. 2017 Oct-Dec;33(4):493-495.
doi: 10.4103/joacp.JOACP_115_16.

The minimum dose of dexmedetomidine required for cessation of postspinal anesthesia shivering: A prospective observational study

Tanveer Singh Kundra  1 , Parminder Kaur  2
Affiliations

The minimum dose of dexmedetomidine required for cessation of postspinal anesthesia shivering: A prospective observational study

Tanveer Singh Kundra et al. J Anaesthesiol Clin Pharmacol. 2017 Oct-Dec.

Abstract

Background and aims: Shivering is a common postanesthesia adverse event with multiple etiologies. Dexmedetomidine, a centrally acting alpha-2 adrenergic agonist, is known to reduce the shivering threshold. However, the minimum dose at which dexmedetomidine causes cessation of shivering is unknown. The aim of this prospective observational study was to find the minimum dosage of dexmedetomidine required for abolition of post-spinal anesthesia (SA) shivering.

Material and methods: Thirty patients having shivering after SA were enrolled, who received dexmedetomidine in the dosage of 1 mcg/kg over 10 min. The time-to-cessation of shivering and the dose of dexmedetomidine required were expressed as mean ± standard deviation.

Results: The mean time-to-cessation of shivering after starting dexmedetomidine infusion was 155.88 ± 15.16 s for Grade 3 shivering and 177.71 ± 10.87 s for Grade 4 shivering. Till that time, the mean dose of dexmedetomidine which had been infused was 0.258 ± 0.024 mcg/kg in Grade 3 shivering and 0.295 ± 0.018 mcg/kg in Grade 4 shivering.

Conclusion: The minimum dose of dexmedetomidine required for abolition of shivering was 0.258 ± 0.024 mcg/kg for patients with Grade 3 shivering and 0.295 ± 0.018 mcg/kg for patients with Grade 4 shivering, which is much less than the commonly administered dose.

Keywords: Minimum effective dose; postspinal shivering; time-to-cessation of shivering.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

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