Abstract
Background
As the practice of aggressive temperature control has become more commonplace, new clinical problems are arising, of which shivering is the most common. Treatment for shivering while avoiding the negative consequences of many anti-shivering therapies is often difficult. We have developed a stepwise protocol that emphasizes use of the least sedating regimen to achieve adequate shiver control.
Methods
All patients treated with temperature modulating devices in the neurological intensive care unit were prospectively entered into a database. Baseline demographic information, daily temperature goals, best daily GCS, and type and cumulative dose of anti-shivering agents were recorded.
Results
We collected 213 patients who underwent 1388 patient days of temperature modulation. Eighty-nine patients underwent hypothermia and 124 patients underwent induced normothermia. In 18% of patients and 33% of the total patient days only none-sedating baseline interventions were needed. The first agent used was most commonly dexmeditomidine at 50% of the time, followed by an opiate and increased doses of propofol. Younger patients, men, and decreased BSA were factors associated with increased number of anti-shivering interventions.
Conclusions
A significant proportion of patients undergoing temperature modulation can be effectively treated for shivering without over-sedation and paralysis. Patients at higher risk for needing more interventions are younger men with decreased BSA.
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Acknowledgments
The project described was supported by Grant Number UL1 RR024156 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research, and its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of NCRR or NIH. Information on NCRR is available at NCRR Website. Information on Re-engineering the Clinical Research Enterprise can be obtained from NIH Roadmap website. H.A.C. is supported by a Neuro-epidemiology Training Grant (National Institutes of Health National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke HAC and EJG are supported by a Neuro-epidemiology Training Grant NIH/NINDS T32NS007153).
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Choi, H.A., Ko, SB., Presciutti, M. et al. Prevention of Shivering During Therapeutic Temperature Modulation: The Columbia Anti-Shivering Protocol. Neurocrit Care 14, 389–394 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12028-010-9474-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12028-010-9474-7