[Perioperative assessment of body temperature in elderly patients during thoracic surgery]

Within the last years there is observed the increase in number of elder patients operated in planned terms. Perioperative disorders of thermoregulation are strongly expressed in the group of patients, and the number of complications rises significantly during inadvertent perioperative hypothermia. The aim of this study was estimation of body temperature in patients subjected to thoracosurgical operations. The study was performed in 23 patients older than 65 years, which were divided into 2 groups. In the group I (12 persons) we used usual methods of heat loss prevention. In group II there were used: passive methods of protection against heat loss as well as Hotline blood and fluids warmer with the possibility of intravenous fluids warming. The body temperature was estimated every 30 minutes. The temperature detectors were located on plantar surface of hallux and in nasopharynx. We observed statistically significant decrease in body temperature values in group I. We conclude that there is the necessarity of the using of accessory methods of heat loss prevention in elder patients subjected to thoracosurgery.