Effects of spinal anesthesia on the peripheral and deep core temperature in elderly diabetic patients undergoing...

The effects of spinal anesthesia on temperature homeostasis have been well studied, but whether body temperature during spinal anesthesia exhibits the same characteristic changes in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) has not been clarified. The present study measured body temperatures at the forehead and at the lower limb using a monitor of deep body temperature and compared patients with DM (n = 8) and without DM (n = 10).

Subjects comprised 18 male patients (ASA physical status I or II) undergoing spinal anesthesia for urological surgery. Changes in deep body temperatures were measured using a Coretemp "deep-tissue" thermometer.

Although the forehead temperature decreased slightly in both groups after spinal anesthesia, no significant differences were noted between groups. Conversely, although the foot temperature was elevated in both groups, temperature increases were smaller in DM patients (4.0 degrees +/- 0.3 degrees C) than in controls (4.9 degrees +/- 0.6 degrees C). Moreover, longer times were required to display increases of 1 degrees C and 2 degrees C for patients with DM (1 degrees C: 19.1 +/- 4.0 min; 2 degrees C: 25.1 +/- 4.2 min) compared with controls (1 degrees C: 9.6 +/- 1.3 min; 2 degrees C: 13.1 +/- 1.5 min).

These data suggest that body temperature changes in patients with DM during spinal anesthesia are different from those of control patients, probably due to disorders of the vascular response.