Many studies show when patients are warmed with forced air, their body temperature is at normal levels by the end of the surgery. However, in this study, researchers examined records of intraoperative core body temperature patterns in about 59,000 surgical patients who were warmed with forced air. Of those patients, 64 percent became hypothermic, with core temperatures below 36 degrees Celsius, for more than one hour.
Additionally, 20 percent of patients had a continuous core temperature below 36 degrees Celsius for more than two hours. However, temperatures rose throughout surgery and most patients had normal body temperatures at the end of the surgery.
“This sort of moderate hypothermia can cause serious complications including blood loss and wound infections,” said Daniel Sessler, MD, who led the study and is chair of the Department of Outcomes Research at Cleveland Clinic.
The results should be used to drive changes in practice to lead to lower levels of intraoperative hypothermia, according to Harriet Hopf, MD, in the department of anesthesiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City. “This study starts a new conversation on perioperative temperature management,” she said. “Future studies should evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to reduce the degree and duration of intraoperative hypothermia and the effect of these interventions on the broad range of outcomes known to be temperature sensitive.”
More articles on patient safety:
Patient safety tool: AHRQ’s kit for ESRD facilities
Ebola, flu, measles: 7 latest stories on vaccines
How hospitals can prevent newborn falls
