Efficacy of Oral Tramadol vs Tizanidine for Controlling Intraoperative Shivering among Patients undergoing Spinal Anesthesia: A Prospective Comparative Study

Abstract

Background: Shivering is one of the most frequent postoperative side effects for patients receiving spinal anesthesia. The frequency of shivering varies but is generally between 40 and 50%. The presence of vasodilatation prior to shivering indicates that shivering among patients sustaining neuraxial anesthesia has been a typical thermoregulation mechanism. This study assessed and compared the efficiency of oral tizanidine and tramadol in lessening shivering intraoperatively among patients sustaining spinal anesthesia for urological procedures. Materials and Methods: The Department of Urology conducted this prospective, randomized comparative study of a tertiary care institute for a six-month period. About 100 patients who underwent spinal anesthesia in the Department of Urology for various procedures were selected into the study and assigned into the groups randomly (50 in each group). Group A included the patients who were given oral tramadol 50 mg for 90 minutes before surgery. Group B included the patients who were given oral tizanidine 4 mg for 90 minutes before surgery. Results: The mean age in the oral tramadol group (Group A) and oral tizanidine group (Group B) are 39.7 and 42.4 years, respectively. The oral tramadol (Group A) comprised 39 males and 11 females. The tizanidine group (Group B) comprised 37 males and 13 females. The oral tramadol group showed greater shivering than the oral tizanidine group. Conclusion: Oral tramadol and oral tizanidine have comparable efficacy to control intraoperative shivering, while oral tizanidine has more sedative effects than oral tramadol.