The researchers sought to identify risk factors for preoperative hypothermia, since perioperative hypothermia is a phenomenon of general anesthesia associated with adverse patient outcomes. They identified 493 patients who underwent elective surgery and analyzed associations between preoperative hypothermia and age, sex, weight, height, body mass index, adipose ratio and lean body weight.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Hypothermia was found in 21.3 percent of patients.
2. The media core temperature was 36.3 degrees Celsius, before induction of anesthesia. Hypothermia occurs when the body’s temperature drops below 35 degrees Celsius, according to the Mayo Clinic.
3. Two independent risk factors for hypothermia were male sex and age greater than 52 years.
The researchers concluded that due to the “high incidence of hypothermia before anesthesia, measuring core temperature should be mandatory 60 to 120 minutes before induction to identify and provide adequate treatment to hypothermic patients.”
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