Tramadol and meperidine effect in postanaesthetic shivering

Postanaesthetic shivering is the existence of involuntary, spontaneous movements in skeletal muscles, giving rise to discomfort. Different drugs are identified to be effective on reducing this complication. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of tramadol and meperidine in controlling postoperative shivering. The present study was performed as a double blind clinical trial on patients suffering from shivering following a general anesthesia for a urologic operation. In the recovery room, the patients received 1mg/kg Tramadol or 0.5mg/kg Meperidine (IV in 30 seconds) based on a randomized table, if PAS of grade II or higher occurred. Shivering was reported to disappear in 40% following the use of tramadol and 53.3% after the consumption of meperidine. Both drugs were effective in reducing the severity of shivering; PAS, however, remained unchanged in a case in tramadol group and 2 in the meperidine group. Tramadol is as effective as the commonly used meperidine in tackling post-anesthetic shivering