PLoS ONE (Jan 2021)

Postoperative hypothermia following non-cardiac high-risk surgery: A prospective study of temporal patterns and risk factors

  • Itajiba Paternosti Sabbag,
  • Fabio Barlem Hohmann,
  • Murillo Santucci Cesar Assunção,
  • Renato Carneiro de Freitas Chaves,
  • Thiago Domingos Corrêa,
  • Pedro Ferro L. Menezes,
  • Ary Serpa Neto,
  • Luiz Marcelo Sá Malbouisson,
  • Suzana Margareth Ajeje Lobo,
  • Cristina Prata Amendola,
  • Jose Eduardo de Aguilar-Nascimento,
  • João Manoel Silva,
  • on behalf of The BRASIS Study Group

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 11

Abstract

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Background and objectives Hypothermia occurs commonly during surgery and can cause postoperative complications. We aimed to describe the characteristics and outcomes of hypothermia in patients undergoing major surgeries. Methods This prospective, observational, multicenter study of a nationally representative sample included all patients over 18 years of age admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). Thirty ICUs were selected randomly at national level. The main outcome measure was the proportion of patients who developed postoperative hypothermia in the first 24 hours of ICU admission. Patients were divided into three groups based on temperature: Results In total, 738 patients had their temperatures measured. The percentage of patients with temperature Conclusions Inadvertent hypothermia was frequent among patients admitted to the ICU and occurred more likely after abdominal surgery, after a long procedure, in elderly patients, and in patients with a higher number of comorbidities. Low postoperative temperature was associated with postoperative complications.