Postoperative shivering: aetiology and treatment

Most postanaesthetic shivering-like tremor is normal thermoregulatory shivering in response to core hypothermia. Therefore, shivering will be prevented by maintaining intraoperative normothermia. Other thermoregulatory-related shivering is caused by the release of cytokines by the surgical procedure. Non-thermoregulatory shivering, occurring in normothermic patients, is caused by other aetiologies such as postoperative pain. It is thus likely that adequate treatment of postoperative pain will ameliorate non-thermoregulatory tremor. In addition, the administration of antipyretic drugs reduces shivering in patients after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.