Effects of pretreatment with tramadol,pethidine and ondansetron on postoperative shivering

Objective To investigate the effects of pretreatment with tramadol, pethidine and ondansetron on postoperative shivering. Methods Eighty patients with gynaecological laparoscopy were randomly divided into tramadol group, pethidine group, ondansetron group and normal saline group. With general anesthesia, tramadol (2.0 mg/kg), pethidine (1.0 mg/kg), ondansetron (0.08 mg/kg) and normal saline (10 mL) were respectively administered after endotracheal intubation.The anesthesia was maintained with propofol, remifentanyl and vecuronium. Signs and parameters such as body temprature were monitored during the operation, time of recovery was recorded, manifestations of shivering, analgesia and sedation were evaluated 5, 30 and 60 min after the entrance of PACU, and the side effects were observed. Results Compared with other groups, time of recovery was significantly longer in pethidine group. The variation of body temperature was significantly less in tramadol group than that in other groups. The incidence of postoperative shivering was much lower in tramadol group and pethidine group than in ondansetron group and normal saline group, while there was no significant difference between tramadol group and pethidine group. Tramadol group achieved significantly smaller VAS scores for analgesia than the other groups. There was no significant difference in Ramsay scores for sedation among the groups, and no severe side effects were observed.Conclusions Pretreatment with tramadol is effective in preventing postoperative shivering.