Intraoperative temperature management during emergency cesarean section: a retrospective observational study

Intraoperative hypothermia is a common complication during cesarean section (C-section) and associated with the high maternal mortality and morbidity. This study aimed to explore the risk factors associated with the incidence of intraoperative hypothermia in women who underwent emergency C-section deliveries.

We retrospectively enrolled women who underwent emergency cesarean deliveries from August 2022 to Dec 2023 at Suzhou Municipal Hospital of Anhui Province. Baseline characteristics, thermal status, and perioperative information were extracted. Hypothermia was defined as the onset of a core temperature below 36 °C. Data were compared between patients with and without a hypothermia during surgery. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the risk factors for low-temperature-status.

Overall, 87 patients were included, and 30 underwent hypothermia during surgery. For women with a normal temperature status, women in the hypothermia group had a lower incidence of receiving active warming methods (52.6% vs. 30%, P = 0.044). In the logistic regression model involving core temperature, a pre-surgery core temperature < 36.5 °C (OR 4.22, 95% CI 1.13-15.63, p = 0.032) and a long surgery duration (per 10 min, OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.24-3.11, p = 0.004) were associated with a high probability of hypothermia. Administering active warming methods to women can reduce the risk of experiencing a hypothermia during emergency C-sections (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.05-0.63; p = 0.007).

Hypothermia is common in emergency C-section deliveries. It is recommended that active warming methods should be applied to parturient undergoing emergency C-sections more proactively, especially for women who have a low baseline core temperature (< 36.5 °C) and are expected to have a long surgery duration.