Inadvertent Hypothermia and Related Risk Factors among Trauma Patients in the Operating Room Department: A Prospective Observational Study

Background & Aims:

Accidental hypothermia is a common complication in trauma patients. Hospitalization of these patients in the Operating Room (OR) can greatly affect the prevalence of inadvertent hypothermia. Due to the negative patient's outcomes, the aim of this study was to investigate its prevalence and related risk factors among trauma patients in the OR.

This prospective observational study was conducted on trauma patients who underwent surgery in the OR department of the Educational and Treatment Center of Mousavi in Zanjan. In this study, 59 eligible patients were selected using convenience sampling method in December 2017. Individual, clinical, environmental and care variables related to hypothermia were collected by a researcher and recorded in a researcher-made data sheet.

The majority of patients (66.1%) were men. The mean and standard deviation of their age was 46.8 (17.7) years. The most common mechanism of trauma was blunt trauma (66.1%) and the main cause of trauma was motor vehicle crash (45.8%). The prevalence of accidental hypothermia in the OR was 67.8%. Eighteen independent variables were entered into the logistic regression model as factors related to accidental hypothermia, and in the final step of the model, low systolic blood pressure (OR=1.141, P=0.022), low blood oxygen saturation (OR=2.229, P=0.009), and inadequate clothing and coverage of patients (OR=8.354, P=0.039) were identified as risk factors. High OR ambient temperature (OR=0.126, P=0.035) and short duration of surgery (OR=0.086, P=0.016) also acted as protective factors.

In the current study, a significant part of surgical patients was hypothermic during operation and factors such as surgery time, systolic blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation, ambient temperature of the OR, and the condition of the patients' clothing were found to be effective in its development. This study has aimed to emphasize the need for early identification of hypothermia and effective management of related factors in order to prevent unwanted consequences.