Spinal anaesthesia is a safe and efficient procedure for regional anaesthesia, Shivering is a prevalent side effect of spinal anaesthesia. Ondansetron, a 5-HT3 receptor blocker, should be used to treat and avoid shivering after spinal anaesthesia.
The aim of this study was to decide if a weight-adjusted dose of ondansetron is superior to a fixed-dose in preventing shivering following spinal anaesthesia for caesarean delivery. While secondary objectives included determining the prevalence of ondansetron and pethidine adverse reactions.
Patients and methods; This was a prospective, randomised, double-blinded, controlled clinical trial involving 129 people, Three equal groups of women were randomly assigned. 1st. received a fixed dose of ondansetron (4mg), 2nd. received ondansetron at a weight controlled dose of 0.1mg/kg, and 3rd. received 0.5 mg/kg pethidine after spinal anaesthesia. the incidence and severity of shivering were measured, as well as the incidence of headache, pruritus, nausea, and vomiting perioperatively were studied.
Results; Shivering was observed in 13 patients (30.2 %) in the first group (FDO), 11 patients (25.6 %) in the second group (WAO), and 11 patients (25.6 %) in the third group (PC), but no significant difference between the groups was observed (p-value˃ 0.05). Shivering was more severe (grade II) in the first group (FDO) 5 patients (11.6 %) than in the second group (WAO) 3 patients (6.9 %).
Conclusions: A weight-adjusted dosage of 0.1 mg/kg significantly decreased the rate and severity of postspinal shivering while causing less adverse effects and improving hemodynamic stability.