McSwain JR, Yared M, Doty JW, Wilson SH. Perioperative hypothermia: Causes, consequences and treatment. World J Anesthesiol 2015; 4(3): 58-65 [DOI: 10.5313/wja.v4.i3.58]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Sylvia H Wilson, MD, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, 167 Ashley Avenue Suite 301, MSC 912, Charleston, SC 29425-9120, United States. wilsosh@musc.edu
Research Domain of This Article
Anesthesiology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Anesthesiol. Nov 27, 2015; 4(3): 58-65 Published online Nov 27, 2015. doi: 10.5313/wja.v4.i3.58
Perioperative hypothermia: Causes, consequences and treatment
Julie R McSwain, Maria Yared, John Wesley Doty, Sylvia H Wilson
Julie R McSwain, Maria Yared, John Wesley Doty, Sylvia H Wilson, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425-9120, United States
Author contributions: All authors substantially contributed to conception and design of the review, drafting the article or making critical revisions related to important intellectual content of the manuscript, and final approval of the version of the article to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors deny conflicts of interests with the presented material.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Sylvia H Wilson, MD, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, 167 Ashley Avenue Suite 301, MSC 912, Charleston, SC 29425-9120, United States. wilsosh@musc.edu
Telephone: +1-843-7922322 Fax: +1-843-7922726
Received: May 6, 2015 Peer-review started: May 8, 2015 First decision: June 3, 2015 Revised: June 24, 2015 Accepted: July 21, 2015 Article in press: July 23, 2015 Published online: November 27, 2015 Processing time: 204 Days and 18.1 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Thermoregulation tightly controls core temperature to ensure optimal organ and enzymatic function. Anesthesia disrupts normal thermoregulation and, when combined with patient exposure to a cold procedural environment, leads to hypothermia. However, hypothermia is not a benign issue. It is associated with postoperative complications including infection, bleeding, cardiac events, changes in drug metabolism, patient discomfort, and increased length of stay. Although multiple preventive strategies have been explored, their utility varies. This review explores the impact of anesthesia on perioperative hypothermia and the evidence for associated complications and outcomes. Preventative strategies are also examined and future directions for research are discussed.
