The influence of environmental conditions and inadvertent perioperative hypothermia on the patient’s condition

Abstract

Environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, air flow velocity, mean radiation temperature) and individual factors (physical activity, clothing insulation) affect the heat exchange between humans and the environment. In thermal balance conditions, a feeling of thermal comfort appears and the body’s thermoregulatory system works properly. In conditions where the thermoregulation mechanism is impaired, a person may be hypothermic or hyperthermic instead of normothermic. One of these situations (hypothermia) can occur in the operating room. Anesthesia, surgery and the operating room environment impair the body’s physiological thermoregulatory mechanisms. Inadvertent perioperative hypothermia, defined as a drop in core body temperature below 36° C, is the most common complication of perioperative care. The article focuses on the issues related to the occurrence of hypothermia of the operated patient, referring also to the indoor conditions in the operating room, maintained as a result of the operation of the ventilation and air conditioning system in the operating room.