The study here investigated the effect of rapidly infused intravenous room temperature fluids in occurrence of perioperative mild hypothermia. The results showed that infusion of room temperature crystalloid solutions can contribute to inducing mild hypothermia and therefore, infusion of warmed fluids may help to reduce the occurrence of this peiroperative complication.
Background and Goal of Study: Hypothermia frequently accompanies anesthesia and can be associated with postoperative complications including wound infection, coagulopathy, morbid cardiac events, reduction of drug metabolism and shivering (1). Surgical patients become hypothermic because of redistribution of heat within the body due to anesthetic-induced vasodilation, exposure to a cold operating environment, instillation of cool fluids into body cavities and inhibition of thermoregulatory response by anesthetics (2). Furthermore, IV infusion of cold blood or room temperature fluids aggravates hypothermia (3). Thus, prevention of perioperative hypothermia should be considered seriously. The goal of this study was to assess the effect of IV infusion of room temperature crystalloid solutions on the body temperatures prior to administration of regional anesthesia.
Materials and Methods: This prospective descriptive study was approved by the hospital ethics committee and patient informed consent was obtained before entering the study. In the operating room, eighty healthy women who were scheduled for elective cesarean section under regional anesthesia were entered into the study. Before administration of anesthesia, core (tympanic) as well as skin (ear) and IV fluid temperatures were measured. Then 10ml/kg room temperature crystalloids were infused rapidly (10ml/kg/15min) and the body temperatures were re-evaluated subsequently. Differences in the patients’ mean temperature values were assessed using paired t-test. Data are presented as mean ± SD and. P < 0.05 was considered significant.
Results and Discussion: Age of patients was 28.37 ± 4.07 years (range: 20 to 37 years) and temperature of intravenous ringer solutions was 23.48 ± 0.08°c. Patients’ core and skin body temperatures significantly reduced after rapid infusion of fluids by 0.5 ± 0.12°c and 0.6 ± 0.31°c, respectively (P=0.001). Mild hypothermia is a well-known consequence of anesthesia and surgery. Our results showed that infusion of room temperature crystalloid solutions can contribute to inducing mild hypothermia and therefore, infusion of warmed fluids may help to reduce the occurrence of this peiroperative complication.
Conclusion(s): Preoperative infusion of room temperature intravenous crystalloid solutions result in perioperative mild hypothermia.