Preventive Effect of Different Doses of Tramadol on Postoperative Shivering during and after Lower Limb Orthopedic Surgery under Spinal Anesthesia as Compared to Control Group

Postoperative shivering is a common complication of surgical procedures under spinal anesthesia. The aim of this study was to determine the preventive effect of different doses of tramadol injection on shivering during and after lumbar orthopedic surgery under spinal anesthesia as compared to control group.

In a clinical trial study, 128 patients underwent lower limb orthopedic surgery in 4 groups of 32 patients received 0.5, 0.75, and 1 mg/kg, tramadol and normal saline with equal volume, 5 minutes before spinal anesthesia. The incidence of postoperative shivering was compared in four groups. Findings: A total of 11 patients suffered from postoperative shivering, 1 (6.2%), 2 (1/5), and 1 (2.6%) received tramadol 0.5, 0.75, and 1 mg/kg, respectively, and 7 (17.9%) were of the control group. The incidence of shivering in the control group was significantly higher than other groups (P = 0.021).

In this study, all three doses of 0.5, 0.75, and 1 mg/kg of tramadol were effective in preventing postoperative shivering, but the dose of 1 mg/kg was more effective. Therefore, a dose of 1 mg/kg tramadol seems to be a more appropriate dose for controlling postoperative shivering.