Display Settings:

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination
    Anaesthesia. 2009 Sep;64(9):968-72.

    Inadvertent hypothermia and mortality in postoperative intensive care patients: retrospective audit of 5050 patients.

    Source

    Department of Anaesthesia, Austin Health, Melbourne, Vic., Australia. dharshi.karalapillai@austin.org.au

    Abstract

    We proposed that many Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients would be hypothermic in the early postoperative period and that hypothermia would be associated with increased mortality. We retrospectively reviewed patients admitted to ICU after surgery. We recorded the lowest temperature in the first 24 h after surgery using tympanic membrane thermometers. We defined hypothermia as < 36 degrees C, and severe hypothermia as < 35 degrees C. We studied 5050 consecutive patients: 35% were hypothermic and 6% were severely hypothermic. In-hospital mortality was 5.6% for normothermic patients, 8.9% for all hypothermic patients (p < 0.001), and 14.7% for severely hypothermic patients (p < 0.001). Hypothermia was associated with in-hospital mortality: OR 1.83 for each degree Celsius ( degrees C) decrease (95% CI: 1.2-2.60, p < 0.001). Given the evidence for improved outcome associated with active patient warming during surgery we suggest conducting prospective studies of active warming of patients admitted to ICU after surgery.

    PMID:
    19686481
    [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

      Supplemental Content

      Icon for Blackwell Publishing

      Save items

      loading

      Recent activity

      Your browsing activity is empty.

      Activity recording is turned off.

      Turn recording back on

      See more...
      Write to the Help Desk