The Effect of Different Intrathecal Doses of Meperidine on Shivering during Delivery Under Spinal Anesthesia

Background: this study was performed to compare the effectof different doses of intrathecal meperidine on the incidence andintensity of shivering and other side-effects after spinal anesthesiafor cesarean delivery.methods: one hundred and fifty-six parturient women scheduled forelective cesarean delivery were enrolled in four groups. spinal anesthesiaconsisted of heavy bupivacaine 0.5% (10 mg) in the standard group(group i), heavy bupivacaine 0.5% (10 mg) plus meperidine (0.2 mgper kg) in group ii, heavy bupivacaine 0.5% (10 mg) plus meperidine(0.3 mg per kg) in group iii, heavy bupivacaine 0.5% (10 mg) plusmeperidine (0.4 mg per kg) in group iv. the signs and symptomswere recorded by an observer unaware of the study groups. datawere analyzed using analysis of variance, kruskal–wallis h-test andchi-square. a p value less than 0.05 was considered to be significant.results: the systolic blood pressure, amount of bleeding, pulse rate,o2 saturation, neonatal apgar scores, core temperatures and sensorylevel revealed no difference between groups (p > 0.05). the incidence(47.5%, 37.5%, 27.5% and 15.0%, respectively) and intensity ofshivering decreased as the dose of meperidine increased (p=0.002) butthe incidence of nausea and vomiting (8.0%, 15.4%, 25.9% and 35.8%,respectively) (p=0.000) and pruritis (25.64, 28.21, 38.46, and 48.72respectively) increased as the dose of meperidine increased (p=0.000).conclusion: the high dose of intrathecal meperidine is effectivein reducing the incidence and intensity of shivering associatedwith spinal anesthesia for cesarean delivery but the high incidenceof nausea and vomiting is unpleasant for the patient and can be amajor problem with a high dose of meperdine.