Effectiveness of dexmedetomidine on preventing shivering after general anesthesia in patients with spinal surgery: a prospective, single-blind, randomized, and controlled clinical experimental study

Objective To investigate effectiveness of dexmedetomidine on preventing shivering of patients after spinal surgery.Methods A total of 78 cases with spinal surgery under anesthesia were randomly divided into study group(dexmedetomidine treatment) and the control group(saline treatment).Heart rate(HR)and mean arterial pressure were observed and recorded at 15,30,60 min after intubation,before and after extubation.Ramsay sedation score,chills grading,chills occur time and postoperative adverse reactions were recorded.Results In study group,HR were ((72.3 ± 5.2) time/min,(83.2 ± 4.5) time/min),mean arterial pressure were((72.7 ±5.0) mmHg,(90.3 ±7.9) mmHg) at before and after extubation,significant lower than that of control group((73.6 ±4.9) time/min,(88.9 ±4.9) time/min; (78.5 ±4.3) mmHg,(95.5 ± 14.9)mmHg;P＜0.05).The incidence of shivering (7.7％) in study group was significantly lower than the control group(30.8 ％,x2 =6.685,P =0.009).Ramsay sedation score at immediately,30 min,60 min into the PACU were (3.1 ± 1.0),(2.1 ± 0.4),(2.0 ± 0.3) respectively,higher than those of control group ((2.0 ± 0.4),(1.3±0.2),(1.1 ±0.3) ; F inter-group =12.543,P＜0.001;F inner-group =9.391,P ＜0.001;F interaction =5.972,P =0.023).The incidence of adverse reactions such as nausea and vomiting in the control group was higher than those of the study group(P =0.003),while the incidence of dry mouth in study group was higher (P =0.002).Conclusion Intraoperative dexmedetomidine can significantly reduce the incidence and degree of shivering in patients with orthopedic spinal surgery after general anesthesia.Dexmedetomidine is proved to be a more ideal drug to prevent shivering in orthopedic spine surgery after general anesthesia. Key words: Dexmedetomidine;  Anesthesia;  Shivering;  Prospective