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A descriptive study of the relationship between preoperative body temperature and intraoperative core temperature change in adults under general anaesthesia

Background: Despite numerous guidelines on perioperative temperature management, perioperative hypothermia remains common. Prewarming to prevent redistribution hypothermia is supported by evidence, but not widely practiced. We investigate the measurement of preoperative mean body temperature as a po...

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Main Author: Steyn, Francois
Other Authors: Du Toit, Leon
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author Steyn, Francois
author2 Du Toit, Leon
author_browse Du Toit, Leon
Steyn, Francois
author_facet Du Toit, Leon
Steyn, Francois
author_sort Steyn, Francois
collection Thesis
description Background: Despite numerous guidelines on perioperative temperature management, perioperative hypothermia remains common. Prewarming to prevent redistribution hypothermia is supported by evidence, but not widely practiced. We investigate the measurement of preoperative mean body temperature as a potential tool for individualising the practise of prewarming. Methods: We hypothesised that patients who experience intraoperative hypothermia have a lower preoperative mean body temperature. A longitudinal study was conducted in adult patients presenting for ophthalmological surgery under general anaesthesia, to describe the relationship between the incidence of hypothermia within the first hour of anaesthesia and preoperative mean body temperature. Results: Sixty-five patients were enrolled. Twelve participants (18%) presented to the operating theatre hypothermic (core temperature <36.0°C). A further twenty-eight (43%) became hypothermic during the procedure. All hypothermia events occurred within sixty minutes after induction of anaesthesia, and half of the events occurred within nineteen minutes. The difference in preoperative mean body temperature between those with- and without intraoperative hypothermia was only -0.2°C (95% CI -0.4, 0.1). This is neither clinically relevant nor statistically noteworthy. In Cox proportional hazards analysis, BMI and ASA status compounded the observed association between preoperative mean body temperature and the incidence of intraoperative hypothermia. A higher BMI and ASA are associated with a lower incidence of hypothermia. Conclusion: We conclude that intraoperative hypothermia is common and occurs early after induction of anaesthesia. We observed no useful difference in preoperative mean body temperature to help distinguish between patients who become hypothermic and those who do not. Without a useful risk prediction tool, a generic approach to prewarming remains appropriate. Preoperative screening for pre-existing hypothermia should be practiced, even in cases considered as low risk.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:32:13.078Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
publishDateSort 2023
publisher Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine
publisherStr Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine
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source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/37803 A descriptive study of the relationship between preoperative body temperature and intraoperative core temperature change in adults under general anaesthesia Steyn, Francois Du Toit, Leon Ross, Hofmeyr health sciences Background: Despite numerous guidelines on perioperative temperature management, perioperative hypothermia remains common. Prewarming to prevent redistribution hypothermia is supported by evidence, but not widely practiced. We investigate the measurement of preoperative mean body temperature as a potential tool for individualising the practise of prewarming. Methods: We hypothesised that patients who experience intraoperative hypothermia have a lower preoperative mean body temperature. A longitudinal study was conducted in adult patients presenting for ophthalmological surgery under general anaesthesia, to describe the relationship between the incidence of hypothermia within the first hour of anaesthesia and preoperative mean body temperature. Results: Sixty-five patients were enrolled. Twelve participants (18%) presented to the operating theatre hypothermic (core temperature <36.0°C). A further twenty-eight (43%) became hypothermic during the procedure. All hypothermia events occurred within sixty minutes after induction of anaesthesia, and half of the events occurred within nineteen minutes. The difference in preoperative mean body temperature between those with- and without intraoperative hypothermia was only -0.2°C (95% CI -0.4, 0.1). This is neither clinically relevant nor statistically noteworthy. In Cox proportional hazards analysis, BMI and ASA status compounded the observed association between preoperative mean body temperature and the incidence of intraoperative hypothermia. A higher BMI and ASA are associated with a lower incidence of hypothermia. Conclusion: We conclude that intraoperative hypothermia is common and occurs early after induction of anaesthesia. We observed no useful difference in preoperative mean body temperature to help distinguish between patients who become hypothermic and those who do not. Without a useful risk prediction tool, a generic approach to prewarming remains appropriate. Preoperative screening for pre-existing hypothermia should be practiced, even in cases considered as low risk. 2023-04-20T13:54:18Z 2023-04-20T13:54:18Z 2022 2023-04-20T13:53:00Z Master Thesis Masters MMed http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37803 eng application/pdf Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine Faculty of Health Sciences
spellingShingle health sciences
Steyn, Francois
A descriptive study of the relationship between preoperative body temperature and intraoperative core temperature change in adults under general anaesthesia
thesis_degree_str Master's
title A descriptive study of the relationship between preoperative body temperature and intraoperative core temperature change in adults under general anaesthesia
title_full A descriptive study of the relationship between preoperative body temperature and intraoperative core temperature change in adults under general anaesthesia
title_fullStr A descriptive study of the relationship between preoperative body temperature and intraoperative core temperature change in adults under general anaesthesia
title_full_unstemmed A descriptive study of the relationship between preoperative body temperature and intraoperative core temperature change in adults under general anaesthesia
title_short A descriptive study of the relationship between preoperative body temperature and intraoperative core temperature change in adults under general anaesthesia
title_sort descriptive study of the relationship between preoperative body temperature and intraoperative core temperature change in adults under general anaesthesia
topic health sciences
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37803
work_keys_str_mv AT steynfrancois adescriptivestudyoftherelationshipbetweenpreoperativebodytemperatureandintraoperativecoretemperaturechangeinadultsundergeneralanaesthesia
AT steynfrancois descriptivestudyoftherelationshipbetweenpreoperativebodytemperatureandintraoperativecoretemperaturechangeinadultsundergeneralanaesthesia