Incidence of Unintentional Intraoperative Hypothermia and Its Risk Factors in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: A Prospective Study

Abstract

Unintentional intraoperative hypothermia is a common complication in patients who undergo open surgery, increasing the risk of adverse outcomes. However, few studies have focused on intraoperative hypothermia during oral and maxillofacial surgery. Our study aimed to analyze the prevalence and risk factors of hypothermia in patients who underwent oral and maxillofacial surgery. A prospective cohort study was conducted on 128 patients who underwent oral and maxillofacial surgery. This prospective study was conducted at West China Hospital of Stomatology between December 2020 and May 2021, and each patient was followed for at least 1-month postoperatively. Patients who underwent oral and maxillofacial surgery under general anesthesia, with at least 1-month follow-up were analyzed. The primary variable was intraoperative hypothermia, defined as core body temperature less than 36°C, measured using a tympanic thermometer during the surgery. We performed univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to identify the risk factors of unintentional intraoperative hypothermia. The mean age of the 128 patients was 31.0 ± 20.9 years, and there was a male predominance (53.1%), with male to female ratio of 1.13:1. Thirty-one patients (24.2%) developed hypothermia intraoperatively. Older age (OR=1.068, 95% CI: 1.028-1.110, P=.001), lower weight (OR=0.878, 95% CI: 0.807-0.955, P=.002), greater blood loss (OR=1.003, 95% CI: 1.000-1.006, P=.034), and undergoing cancer surgery (OR=0.210, 95% CI: 0.067-0.656, P=.007) were associated with intraoperative hypothermia. Unintentional intraoperative hypothermia is common in patients who undergo surgery for oral cancer. Warming interventions to prevent intraoperative hypothermia for high-risk patients (older, lower weight, or more intraoperative bleeding) should be considered. Meanwhile, with careful nursing and rehabilitation instructions, intraoperative hypothermia does not lead to serious perioperative complications.