Objectives
Postspinal shivering is a frequent complication following spinal anesthesia. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of nefopam with that of ketamine plus midazolam and placebo in the prevention of postspinal shivering.
Methods
We studied 226 patients undergoing elective orthopedic surgery. Patients were located to one of three groups, group N ( = 76) received 0.2 mg kg nefopam, group K ( = 75) received ketamine 0.25 mg plus midazolam 40 μg kg and group S ( = 75) received saline 0.9% as placebo.
Results
We found a significant reduction in the incidence of shivering in group N and group K in comparison to group S. There were no significant differences in hypotenion and bradycardia in all groups. Sedation was significant in group K in comparison with group N and S.
Conclusion
The results of our study showed that nefopam (0.2 mg kg) is as effective as ketamine 0.25 mg plus midazolam 40 μg kg in the prophylaxis of postspinal shivering and not accompanied by sedation or hemodynamic side effects.