Perioperative hypothermia (PH), usually defined as a temperature of less than 36.0°C
during the perioperative period, can result from anesthesia-induced thermoregulatory
inhibition combined with exposure to a cold operating room environment and is estimated
to occur in 50% to 70% of patients undergoing anesthesia and major surgery [
[1]
]. Almost all anesthetics, including opioids, propofol, inhalational agents, and spinal/epidural
anesthetics, have been shown to impair thermoregulatory mechanisms through their effects
on the brain/hypothalamus, impairment of peripheral vasoconstriction, and the shivering
response. As a result, patients (particularly the very young and the elderly) exposed
to these agents become poikilothermic and body temperature decreases to less than
36.0°C in a cool operating room environment [
[2]
]. Return to normothermia often requires several hours, which in turn increases exposure
to PH (and its attendant morbidities) beyond the immediate intraoperative period.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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