Clinical study of tramadol for the treatment of postepidural anesthetic shivering in parturients

Objective To compare the efficacy and side effects of tramadol and pethidine for the treatment of postepidural anesthetic shivering in parturients.Methods Ninety parturients who shivered during cesarean delivery under epidural anesthesia and requested antishivering treatment were randomly divided into three groups:Group T(n=30)received tramadol 1.0 mg/kg,Group P(n=30) received pethidine 0.5 mg/kg,and Group C(n=30)received 5 ml of normal saline.The rate of improvement of shivering,side effects and Apgar scores of newborns were recorded and compared between three groups.Results In group T and Group P,the rate of improvement of shivering were 29/30 and 24/30 respectively,while in group C the rate of improvement of shivering was only 3/30.Group T and Group P showed better antishivering effects than Group C(P0.01).No significant difference of antishivering effects was observed between Group T and Group P.The overall incidence of side effects in Group P is significantly higher than in Group T and Group C.Apgar scores of Group P was 8.3±1.2,significantly lower than in Group T and Group C(P0.05),which was 9.6±0.5 and 9.5±0.5 respectively.Conclusion Tramadol is better suited than pethidine for the treatment of postepidural anesthetic shivering in parturients.