Post-anaesthetic shaking. A review of the literature

This paper describes the phenomenon of post-anaesthetic shaking (PAS) as it is discussed in the literature. Literature was obtained via computerised searches of the Cochrane Library, Medline, and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases. This review considers PAS in adults, who have had either a general or regional anaesthetic. It focuses on the controversy regarding the cause of the condition, the role of anaesthetics in hypothermia, pharmacological interventions, and non-pharmacological interventions. The key conclusion to emerge is that nurses must take patients' shaking seriously and initiate treatment for it. If PAS is associated with hypothermia then the patient needs to be rewarmed, and if it is associated with pain, analgesia needs to be administered.