• Mahshid Ghasemi, Faranak Behnaz, and Habibollah Hajian.
• Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, Taleghani Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
• Anesth Pain Med. 2018 Apr 1; 8 (2): e63230.

BackgroundShivering during a surgery is common. Recently, Alpha-D-agonist dexmedetomidine has been used to control and prevent shivering during and after surgery. However, the anti-shivering effects of this drug in people are unknown with substance abuse. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-shivering effect of this drug in addicted individuals.MethodsAfter obtaining the required criteria, the criteria were randomized in 2 groups, dexmedetomidine and normal saline (each group n = 30), and were matched in age and sex. The dexmedetomidine 0.5 mg/kg/h was given to one group and normal saline infusion was given to the other group as a placebo immediately after induction of anesthesia and before surgery for lower limb lesions. During the operation, patients were monitored for shivering as well as vital signs and arterial oxygen saturation. In addition, after surgery, patients were evaluated for clinical side effects.ResultsThe results showed that systolic blood pressure was significantly lower in the dexmedetomidine group at 30 minutes to 150 minutes after injection during the operation (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups at the other times. In intra-group comparisons in both groups, diastolic pressure drop was significantly decreased to 90 minutes after surgery. In general, at other times in each group, diastolic pressure changes were not significant compared to preoperative. In between group comparisons, the mean heart rate was significantly lower in the dexmedetomidine group at 30 minutes and 60 minutes compared to the control group. In addition, at other times, its lower values were not significantly different with the control group. The 2 groups did not show significant differences in the number of breaths per minute or as the intra-group (P > 0.05), although, the average respiratory rate per minute in the dexmedetomidine group was lower. Decreased temperature of the tympanic curvature was significantly lower in the DEX group at 10 and 60 minutes after surgery than the control group (P < 0.001). Arterial oxygen saturation was more than 97% in both groups before and after operation, and no difference was observed between the 2 groups.ConclusionsPrescribing dexmedetomidine during spinal anesthesia in patients with substance abuse can significantly decrease the incidence of shivering during surgery while not having adverse effects on hemodynamics of patients and can be used as a safe and effective drug for this purpose.

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