Inadvertent perioperative hypothermia and surgical site infections after liver resection

In the overall surgical population, inadvertent perioperative hypothermia has been associated with an increased incidence of surgical site infection (SSI). However, recent clinical trials did not validate this notion. This study aimed to investigate the potential correlation between inadvertent perioperative hypothermia and SSIs following liver resection.

This retrospective cohort study included all consecutive patients who underwent liver resection between January 2019 and December 2021 at the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine. Perioperative temperature managements were implemented for all patients included in the analysis. Estimated propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to reduce the baseline imbalances between the normothermia and hypothermia groups. Before and after PSM, univariate analyses were performed to evaluate the correlation between hypothermia and SSI. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine whether hypothermia was an independent risk factor for postoperative transfusion and major complications. Subgroup analyses were performed for diabetes mellitus, age > 65 years, and major liver resection.

Among 4000 patients, 2206 had hypothermia (55.2%), of which 150 developed SSI (6.8%). PSM yielded 1434 individuals in each group. After PSM, the hypothermia and normothermia groups demonstrated similar incidence rates of SSI (7.0% vs. 6.3%, P = 0.453), postoperative transfusion (13.7% vs. 13.3%, P = 0.743), and major complications (10.1% vs. 9.0%, P = 0.309). Univariate regression analysis revealed no significant effects of hypothermia on the incidence of SSI in the group with the highest hypothermia exposure [odds ratio (OR) = 1.25, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.84-1.87, P = 0.266], the group with moderate exposure (OR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.65-1.53, P = 0.999), or the group with the lowest exposure (OR = 1.11, 95% CI: 0.73-1.65, P = 0.628). The subgroup analysis revealed similar results. Regarding liver function, patients in the hypothermia group demonstrated lower γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (37 vs. 43 U/L, P < 0.001) and alkaline phosphatase (69 vs. 72 U/L, P = 0.016). However, patients in the hypothermia group exhibited prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (29.2 vs. 28.6 s, P < 0.001).

In our study of patients undergoing liver resection, we found no significant association between mild perioperative hypothermia and SSI. It might be due to the perioperative temperature managements, especially active warming measures, which limited the impact of perioperative hypothermia on the occurrence of SSI.