Intraoperative hypothermia is associated with an increased intensive care unit length-of-stay in patients undergoing elective open abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery: a retrospective cohort study

• Published in: Anaesthesia and intensive care 2013-11, Vol.41 (6), p.759-764
• Main Authors: Jeyadoss, J, Thiruvenkatarajan, V, Watts, R W, Sullivan, T, van Wijk, R M A W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal - surgery; Causality; Cohort Studies; Critical Illness - epidemiology; Elective Surgical Procedures - methods; Female; Humans; Hypothermia - epidemiology; Intensive Care Units; Intraoperative Complications - epidemiology; Length of Stay - statistics & numerical data; Male; Postoperative Complications - epidemiology; Retrospective Studies; South Australia - epidemiology
• ISSN: 0310-057X; 1448-0271
• DOI: 10.1177/0310057x1304100611

Intraoperative hypothermia in open elective abdominal aortic aneurysm repair may be associated with increased hospital morbidity. This retrospective, single centre study investigated whether there was an association between intraoperative hypothermia in open elective abdominal aortic aneurysm repair and postoperative in-hospital morbidity. The data of 119 patients who underwent open infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm repair between January 2006 and January 2011 were collected. The electronic databases from the hospital, intensive care unit, transfusion medicine and operating theatres were linked by the patient's unique identifiers including date of birth and unit record number. Intraoperative nasopharyngeal temperature measurements were collected manually from paper-based anaesthetic records. The study group included 102 out of the 119 patients. Sixty-six patients (64.6%) had intraoperative hypothermia as defined by temperature