Patients who develop postanesthesia shaking increase body temperature at the same rate as those who do not develop shaking.

Postanesthesia shaking is a common complication occurring after general anesthesia. Although the cause is unknown, some nurses believe that shaking is useful and beneficial for patients because it increases body temperature and that shaking stops when patients are no longer hypothermic. The primary purpose of this study was to examine changes in body temperature among patients who developed and who did not develop shaking. Secondary purposes were to examine changes in body temperature among patients who received or who did not receive intravenous narcotic-analgesic medication treatment to stop shaking and among those who either stopped shaking or who continued to shake until spontaneous cessation occurred minutes to hours later. The convenience sample consisted of 36 shaking patients and 56 nonshaking patients who were extubated, were over 18 years of age, had an intact intravenous line, and received isoflurane anesthesia. Shaking was established when patients reached and sustained grade 2 or 3 shaking on a 0-to-3 visual scale for 3 minutes (no shaking to forceful shaking). Shaking was determined as having stopped when patients achieved grade 2 on a 0-to-2 visual scale (continues shaking to stopped shaking). Axillary temperature was measured on PACU admission and again after 60 minutes. The six hypotheses were supported. Patients who developed shaking (mean = .67 degrees C [1.2 degrees F]) changed body temperature at the same rate as those who did not develop shaking (mean = .72 degrees C [1.3 degrees F]). Administration of intravenous narcotic-analgesic medication to stop shaking did not alter the rate of body temperature change in patients who received or who did not receive treatment for shaking and those who did or who did not stop shaking. Findings suggest that postanesthesia shaking does not increase body temperature. This finding does not support the long-held belief that shaking is useful and beneficial for patients because it increases body temperature. Findings also indicated that the administration of intravenous narcotic-analgesic medications to stop shaking does not alter the rate of body temperature change. Suggestions for further research focus on systematically examining nursing interventions currently implemented to stop shaking. Research findings will provide evidence that either supports or fails to support the implementation of therapeutic interventions that effectively stop shaking within 5 minutes.