Clinical Trial Summary
Background: Postoperative hypothermia may result in relevant complications such as adverse
cardiovascular events, wound infection, and coagulopathy with consecutive blood loss.
Patients with open cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass are particular at risk for
hypothermia. The study of Karalapillai and coworkers, analyzing a huge database incl. 43,158
patients with CPB, revealed 66% of them experiencing postoperative hypothermia during the
first 24 hours and 0.3% longer than that. During cardiac surgery great parts of body surface
including wound surface are exposed. Many of these patients receive large amounts of
infusions and transfusions, and undergo hemodilution during CPB, which may additionally
contribute to development of hypothermia.
Objective of the planned study is to find out incidence and duration of postoperative
hypothermia and also risk factors for hypothermia in cardiac patients. Further objective is
the incidence of postoperative complications and its relation to postoperative core
temperature.
Methods: A retrospective chart review 780 patients who had been underwent cardiac surgery
with CPB Included are patients ≥ 18 years old. Excluded are patients with preoperative
hyperthermia (> 37.8 °C) and hypothermia (> 36 °C).
The following parameters will be recorded: temperature is measured at ICU after arrived and
after 6 hours which is primary outcome, biometric data include age, sex, body weight, height,
ASA physical status, surgical procedure includes emergency cases, anesthetic and surgical
(bypass-) times, infusion/transfusion-regimen, blood loss and urine output, coolest
temperature during bypass, method of temperature protection, and the outcome of operation .
All data will be described in number and percent and Pearson chi-square method will be used
for analyze correlation between hypothermia and risk factor . P-value <0.05 will be defined
to significant.
