Effect of Intraoperative Administration of Meperidine on Postoperative Shivering Using the Ohmeda Universal Portable Anesthesia Complete (UPAC) Drawover Vaporizer

摘要

This study was designed to determine if the intravenous use of meperidine intraoperatively decreased the incidence of post-operative shivering in patients who were anesthetized using the Ohmeda UPAC drawover vaporizer. It determined if the incidence of postoperative shivering was greater in patients who were anesthetized using the UPAC than those who were anesthetized using conventional anesthesia machines. This was a quasi-experimental, prospective, double-blinded, 2x2 randomized study design. Subjects in the treatment group received 25 mg meperidine intravenously approximately 20 minutes prior to the end of surgery. Control group subjects received a placebo. All subjects received general anesthesia using the Ohmeda UPAC drawover vaporizer. Shivering was assessed postoperatively by the nursing staff in the PACU using four criteria adopted by the investigators to evaluate postoperative shivering. If 2 of the 4 criteria were present, the definition of shivering was met. Chi square was used to determine the association of meperidine administration to shivering. Chi square was also used to compare the proportion of shivering in the control group to the proportion of shivering in the control group using a conventional anesthesia machine (Horn et al., 1998). Data analysis revealed that 47.6% of the subjects in the control group shivered while 31% of the subjects in the treatment group shivered (p = .22). When the incidence of shivering in the control group (47.6%) was compared to the incidence of shivering in the control group by Horn (40%), no statistical significance was found (p = .623). When the overall incidence of shivering was examined in two age groups (<30 years of age vs. >30 years of age), statistically less shivering was found in subjects greater than 30 years old (p = .033). The investigators concluded that 25 mg meperidine intravenous did not significantly reduce the incidence of shivering with use of the UPAC drawover anest.