Central temperature during laparoscopic colorectal surgery

Abstract

Introduction: Hypothermia is a complication that frequently occurs in the postoperative period of laparoscopic surgery. Multiple factors boost the decrease in body temperature due to the direct effect of gas.
Objective: To determine the variations in body temperature in laparoscopic colorectal surgery and its influence on intraoperative hypothermia.
Methods: A descriptive, longitudinal and prospective study was carried out with patients, using general anesthesia for elective laparoscopic colorectal procedures and with the purpose of identifying the incidence and variations of body temperature. The study was carried out at the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital, between January 2014 and January 2017.
Results: Among the 88 patients, 78.4% were at ages 51-60 years. Male sex, overweight patients and ASA-II classification were more frequent. The average basal temperature was 36.4ºC. After 30 min, it decreased to 35.5ºC; after one hour, to 35.4 ºC; after 90 min, 35.1ºC; and at the end, to 34.9 ºC. From the total, 78.4% presented unintentional intraoperative hypothermia. None of them had severe hypothermia. The average surgical time was 183.1 min. There were 49 complications associated with hypothermia.
Conclusions: Variations in body temperature were identified in the laparoscopic colorectal intervention, as well as the tendency to generate hypothermia during the surgical procedure.