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

Abstract

Inadvertent perioperative hypothermia is defined as an unplanned core temperature of less than 36 °C occurring during the perioperative period.1,2 It is associated with numerous adverse patient outcomes3-5 including increased surgical site infection rates,4-6 blood loss,5,7 length of hospital stay6 and cost of care.1,8-10 Despite the ubiquity of guidelines to prevent perioperative hypothermia, the reported incidence ranges between 20% and 90%.3,11