Perioperative hypothermia and incidence of surgical wound infection: a bibliographic study

Abstract

The purpose of this review article was to understand and analyze the scientific production related to the occurrence of perioperative hypothermia and the incidence of infection on the surgical site. For this purpose, a search was conducted in the databases LILACS, MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL and Cochrane, using the health science descriptors DECS, from 2004 to 2009. A total of 91 articles were found. After eliminating duplicate items and using selection criteria for inclusion, six manuscripts remained for analysis. The studies were classified as retrospective, prospective, case studies, and clinical trials. After analysis, the majority of studies showed that hypothermia must be prevented during the perioperative period to reduce complications in the healing process of the surgical incision. Therefore, unadverted hypothermia directly influences in surgical site healing, increasing the incidence of infection in the surgical wound.

Efficacy of forced‐air warming for preventing perioperative hypothermia and related complications in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery: A randomized controlled trial

“…Hypothermia occurs when the body's core (head and body) temperature drops from 36.5°C to 37.5°C to <36°C (da Silva & Peniche Ade, ). Approximately, 45% to 70% of surgical patients experience hypothermia because of the effect of anaesthesia, which causes core heat loss to the periphery by redistribution and heat loss from the body surface to the operation room (OR) without a concomitant increase in metabolic heat production (Sessler, ).…”

Meta‐analysis: effectiveness of forced‐air warming for prevention of perioperative hypothermia in surgical patients

“…() used a mean difference of 0·16 (95% CI: −0·01 to 0·33, P = 0·06). The confidence levels of both studies were greater than 0 and P > 0·05; therefore, an interpretation of no difference between the two groups was suggested (Hodson & Craig , da Silva & Peniche Ade ). Our results are consistent with those of Munday et al .…”

Perioperative temperature management in adult anesthesia

“…Under this temperature, shivering and the autonomic response are unable to compensate completely without the aid of heating. 10,11 In the operating room, cold room air, fluids and exposure to patients is a major cause of hypothermia. One refrigerated blood unit or 1 liter of crystalloid fluid at room temperature will reduce body temperature by 0.25°C.…”