Intraoperative thermal regulation in patients undergoing laparoscopic vs open surgical procedures

Although perioperative hypothermia is a well-known consequence of general anesthesia, it has been hypothesized that laparoscopic surgery exacerbates hypothermia to a greater extent than open surgery. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that laparoscopic surgery does not represent an increased risk for hypothermia.

A case-controlled retrospective study was conducted on 45 patients, 25 undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy and 20 undergoing parathyroid surgery under endotracheal general anesthesia. Data were collected regarding age, sex, weight, height, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) status, length of surgery, and anesthesia. In addition, we analyzed the type of intraoperative intravenous fluids, anesthetics and perioperative drugs, and temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate recordings during anesthesia.

There was no significant difference between the two groups with respect to age, sex, body mass index (BMI), ASA status, type or amount of intravenous fluids infused, length of anesthesia or surgery, changes in mean blood pressure, or heart rate. Core body temperatures in both groups decreased significantly over time (p 0.05). There was no difference between the groups in terms of maximum drop in temperature (lowest temperature recorded vs baseline temperature) (1.1 +/- 0.7 vs 1.0 +/- 0.7 degrees C, p > 0.05).

This study demonstrates that patients who undergo laparoscopic and open procedures of similar duration under endotracheal general anesthesia have similar profiles in terms of perioperative hypothermia.