Patients who develop postanesthesia shaking increase body temperature at the same rate as those who do not develop...

Area of Science:

• Anesthesiology
• Postoperative Care
• Physiology

Background:

• Postanesthesia shaking is a common complication after general anesthesia.
• A prevalent belief among nurses is that shaking increases body temperature and is beneficial.
• The exact cause of postanesthesia shaking remains unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine body temperature changes in patients who developed shaking versus those who did not.
• To investigate the effect of intravenous narcotic-analgesic medication on body temperature changes during shaking.
• To analyze body temperature changes in patients based on the cessation of shaking.

Main Methods:

• A convenience sample of 36 shaking and 56 non-shaking adult patients who received isoflurane anesthesia was studied.
• Axillary temperature was measured upon PACU admission and 60 minutes later.
• Shaking severity was graded using a visual scale (0-3), and cessation was defined by a specific scale reduction.

Main Results:

• Patients who developed shaking and those who did not showed similar rates of body temperature change.
• Administration of narcotic-analgesics to stop shaking did not alter the rate of body temperature change.
• The study found no evidence that postanesthesia shaking increases body temperature.

Conclusions:

• The findings do not support the belief that postanesthesia shaking is beneficial for increasing body temperature.
• Intravenous narcotic-analgesic medications administered to stop shaking do not impact the rate of body temperature change.
• Further research is recommended to systematically evaluate nursing interventions aimed at stopping postanesthesia shaking.