Postoperative hypothermia and associate factors at Debre Berhan comprehensive specialized hospital 2019: A cross sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundHypothermia is a core body temperature less than 36 °C (96.8 °F). It is a common incident in the immediate postoperative period. Postoperative hypothermia is associated with prolong hospital, post-anesthetic care unit or intensive care unit (ICU) stay, surgical site infection, postoperative blood transfusions, pressure ulcers, decrease patient comfort and satisfaction, subjective discomfort and mortality, cardiovascular complications, and increase cost. In an effort to decrease the occurrence of postoperative hypothermia, it would be helpful to identify and correct significant associated factors. ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to determine the incidence of postoperative hypothermia and identify associated factors. MethodA Hospital based cross-sectional study was undertaken. All postoperative (N = 410) patients that underwent scheduled or emergency surgery were included. Tympanic membrane temperature was measured before surgery and on arrival at recovery room. Analysis was done using SPSS version 22.00 and binary logistic regression was utilized to identify associated factors. ResultThe incidence of postoperative hypothermia immediately at recovery room was 130 (31.71%). From these, 57 (43.85%) and 73 (56.15%) were mild and moderate respectively with no severe hypothermia noticed. The multivariate logistic regression indicated that age >50 [(AOR = 4.91; 95% CI, 1.23; 8.98)], ASA II [AOR = 4.02; 95% CI (1.53–9.56)], ASA III [AOR = 6.04; 95% CI (2.04–15.05)], major surgical procedures [AOR = 3.03; 95% CI (1.27–8.79)], general anesthesia [AOR = 6.32; 95% CI (2.41–13.03)] and coexisting disease [AOR = 3.12; 95% CI (1.02–8.27)] were are significantly associated with postoperative hypothermia. Conclusion and recommendationThe incidence of postoperative hypothermia in recovery room was high. Age greater than 50 years old, high ASA physical status, operation done under general anesthesia, major operations and coexisting disease were strongly associated with postoperative hypothermia. All perioperative surgical team should participate to reduce the occurrence of postoperative hypothermia with early prediction and diagnosis for better outcome of patient.