A while back a young woman came into the ED with angioedema/oral swelling. She was treated with the usual cocktail IV: benadryl/pepcid/solumedrol. I believe she was given epi as well, but I can't remember.
Anywho, after the meds were administered she started shivering pretty bad and got goosebumps all over her body. Another nurse grabbed her some warm blankets and said something to her saying not to worry, this was a normal side effect of the medications and she mentioned something about histamine release.
Does anyone know the pathophysiology behind this? Does this have something to do with the response of the sympathetic nervous system or what?
I thought the shivering could just be a result of anaphylactic shock but she made it seem like it was the med administration that caused it. Maybe I misheard her.
