Aggressive warming during surgery does not reduce major complications: Study

Apr 05, 2022

New Delhi, April 05 (ANI): Patients kept at a body temperature of 37 C during major surgery had no fewer cardiac complications than patients kept at 35.5 C, according to the American College of Cardiology's researchers. This study was simultaneously published in the journal The Lancet. (ANI)There were also no differences in the number of infections or required blood transfusions in patients kept at cooler body temperatures.Body temperature generally decreases during surgery, largely because anaesthetic medications interfere with the body's processes for regulating temperature. While practices vary around the world, nursing staff in Western countries typically use forced-air heaters to keep patients warm during surgery, with a target temperature of 36 C, or 96.8 F. This trial, one of the largest to date, sought to determine whether warming patients even more, to 37 C, or 98.6 F, would reduce the risk of cardiac complications, which are a leading cause of death in the first 30 days after major surgery.