The Role of Perioperative Hypothermia in the Development of Surgical Site Infection: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Surgical patients may experience inadvertent perioperative hypothermia, a condition that can cause a variety of complications, including surgical site infection (SSI). The authors of this systematic review used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols guidelines to examine the role of perioperative hypothermia in the development of SSI. The authors searched the PubMed, Cumulative Index Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane, and ScienceDirect databases for eligible articles published between January 2008 and November 2018 and identified seven studies that met the inclusion criteria. The results of this review indicate that the relationship between hypothermia and SSI is closely related to the type of the surgical intervention performed (eg, emergent, colorectal), and that severe hypothermia (eg, <35.0° C [95.0° F]) can increase the risk of developing an SSI. Perioperative nurses should monitor patients for inadvertent hypothermia and prevent its occurrence when possible.