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Thermoregulatory thresholds during epidural and spinal anesthesia
1Department of Anesthesia, University of California, San Francisco.
Anesthesiology
|August 1, 1994
Summary
Spinal and epidural anesthesia have similar effects on core temperature thresholds for sweating, vasoconstriction, and shivering. However, regional anesthesia impairs thermoregulatory control by widening temperature ranges between these responses.
Area of Science:
- Anesthesiology
- Physiology
- Thermoregulation
Background:
- Physiologic differences exist between spinal and epidural anesthesia.
- Regional anesthesia may influence thermoregulatory processing differently.
- This study investigated thermoregulatory thresholds during spinal and epidural anesthesia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that core-temperature thresholds for thermoregulatory sweating, vasoconstriction, and shivering are similar during epidural and spinal anesthesia.
- To evaluate the impact of regional anesthesia on thermoregulatory control.
Main Methods:
- Six male volunteers underwent epidural anesthesia, spinal anesthesia, and no anesthesia on separate days.
- Thermoregulatory thresholds were determined by warming and cooling volunteers.
- Twenty-one surgical patients received either epidural or spinal anesthesia.
Main Results:
- Core-temperature thresholds for sweating, vasoconstriction, and shivering were similar during epidural and spinal anesthesia in volunteers.
- Regional anesthesia significantly increased the ranges between thermoregulatory thresholds.
- Shivering thresholds were virtually identical in patients receiving epidural or spinal anesthesia.
Conclusions:
- Thermoregulatory processing appears similar during epidural and spinal anesthesia.
- Regional anesthesia impairs thermoregulatory control by widening critical temperature ranges.
- Further research may be needed to understand the clinical implications of impaired thermoregulation.