science

Postanesthetic shivering

Postanesthetic shivering is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Postanesthetic shivering rather than just read about it. In short: Postanesthetic shivering (PAS) is shivering after anesthesia. Postanesthetic shivering is one of the leading causes of discomfort in patients recovering from general anesthesia.

Key takeaways

Postanesthetic shivering belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Postanesthetic shivering to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Postanesthetic shivering from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Postanesthetic shivering (PAS) is shivering after anesthesia. Postanesthetic shivering is one of the leading causes of discomfort in patients recovering from general anesthesia. It usually results due to the anesthetic inhibiting the body's thermoregulatory capability, although cutaneous vasodilation (triggered by post-operative pain) may also be a causative factor. First-line treatment consists of warming the patient; more persistent/severe cases may be treated with medications such as tramadol, pethidine, clonidine, and nefopam, which work by reducing the shivering threshold temperature and reducing the patient's level of discomfort. As these medications may react and/or synergize with the anesthetic agents employed during the surgery, their use is generally avoided when possible. The anesthetic ketamine can also be used to manage postanesthetic shivering.

Grading The intensity of PAS may be graded using the scale described by Crossley and Mahajan:

0 = no shivering; 1 = no visible muscle activity but piloerection, peripheral vasoconstriction, or both are present (other causes excluded); 2 = muscular activity in only one muscle group; 3 = moderate muscular activity in more than one muscle group but no generalized shaking; 4 = violent muscular activity that involves the whole body.

References

Further reading Crossley AW, Mahajan RP (March 1994). "The intensity of postoperative shivering is unrelated to axillary temperature". Anaesthesia. 49 (3): 205–7. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2044.1994.tb03422.x. PMID 8147511. S2CID 205247789. Buggy DJ, Crossley AW (May 2000). "Thermoregulation, mild perioperative hypothermia and postanaesthetic shivering". Br J Anaesth. 84 (5): 615–28. doi:10.1093/bja/84.5.615. PMID 10844839. Alfonsi P (May 2003). "Postanaesthetic shivering. Epidemiology, pathophysiology and approaches to prevention and management". Minerva Anestesiol. 69 (5): 438–42. PMID 12768180. Kranke P, Eberhart LH, Roewer N, Tramèr MR (February 2002). "Pharmacological treatment of postoperative shivering: a quantitative systematic review of randomized controlled trials". Anesth. Analg. 94 (2): 453–60. doi:10.1213/00000539-200202000-00043. PMID 11812718. S2CID 12094935. Kranke P, Eberhart LH, Roewer N, Tramèr MR (September 2004). "Single-dose parenteral pharmacological interventions for the prevention of postoperative shivering: a quantitative systematic review of randomized controlled trials". Anesth. Analg. 99 (3): 718–27. doi:10.1213/01.ANE.0000130589.00098.CD. PMID 15333401. S2CID 35191305. Eberhart LH, Döderlein F, Eisenhardt G, et al. (December 2005). "Independent risk factors for postoperative shivering". Anesth. Analg. 101 (6): 1849–57. doi:10.1213/01.ANE.0000184128.41795.FE. PMID 16301273. S2CID 5752644.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Postanesthetic shivering

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Postanesthetic shivering claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Postanesthetic shivering before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Postanesthetic shivering ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Postanesthetic shivering

In research: Postanesthetic shivering appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Postanesthetic shivering in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Postanesthetic shivering is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Anesthesia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Postanesthetic shivering outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Postanesthetic shivering in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Postanesthetic shivering means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Postanesthetic shivering out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Postanesthetic shivering in simple terms?

Postanesthetic shivering (PAS) is shivering after anesthesia. Postanesthetic shivering is one of the leading causes of discomfort in patients recovering from general anesthesia.

Why does Postanesthetic shivering matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Postanesthetic shivering?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Postanesthetic shivering.