Assessing the effect of warming up the patient with forced air on the body central temperature during general anesthesia in patients aged 20-70 years under eye surgery in Farabi Hospital

Background and Objective: Lowering of body central temperature is a common phenomenon during general anesthesia, which can potentially lead to unwanted complications such as coagulation disorders, delayed wound healing, increased wound infections, and increased cardiac complications for patients. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of intensive heating of patients by forced air on raising central temperature during general anesthesia. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial study was performed on 60 patients (41 males and 19 females) who were candidates for elective ocular surgery in Farabi Hospital. Participants were divided into 3 groups of 20 participants after obtaining informed consent. In this study, in the first group (pre-warming), the patients were warmed up for 30 minutes before anesthesia with forced air at 38-42 degrees C. In the second group (control), warming was not performed and in the third group (total warming) warming up lasted half an hour before anesthesia until the end of anesthesia. The body central temperature of the patients was measured and recorded before the start of anesthesia and every 15 minutes during surgery and in recovery by means of a tympanic thermometer and finally was compared and statistically analyzed. Results: The incidence of hypothermia in the pre warming group was 45%, in the control group 55%, and in the total warming group, 10%. Also, 10% of the pre-warming group and 15% of the control group experienced severe hypothermia. The mean body temperature of the patients except at the beginning of the study showed a significant difference at all times in the three groups. Also, patients who were exposed to active warming in the operating room had a higher mean temperature at recovery and at the outlet, and their differences were statistically significant (p <0.001). There was no significant correlation between the body central temperature of the patients and their hemodynamic indices over time. Discussion and Conclusion: In this study, it was shown that the active warming of the patients in the operating room prevents reduced body central temperature. Also, the warming of the patients for a short time prevents the occurrence of hypothermia.