Effect of Upper Limb Warming Blanket on Body Temperature Control During Total Hip Arthroplasty and Total Knee Arthroplasty

Abstract

Background: At our research facility, the body temperature is constantly monitored using a continuous-measuring ear thermometer, i.e., Nipro CE Thermo (hereafter CE Thermo). However, this temperature control assumes that the CE Thermo itself does not get affected, thus warranting the identification of influencing factors for temperature control based on their influence on the CE Thermo. We aimed to evaluate the tympanic membrane temperature of patients undergoing lower limb surgery under general anesthesia, and to explore body temperature fluctuations during anesthesia based on the tympanic membrane temperature.

Methods: We selected patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for lower extremities at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Okinawa Tokushukai Kamagaya General Hospital between January 2017 and March 2020. We conducted a retrospective observational study of 173 patients undergoing THA and TKA for lower extremities at a single institution.

Results: We calculated and compared the tympanic temperature measurements at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 min between the groups to predict the factors of temperature variation. The results of tympanic temperature measurements were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance. At the beginning of the measurement, the THA group demonstrated significantly lower values than the TKA group (P = 0.001).

Conclusions: The above results necessitate further clarification of the effect of temperature fluctuation, including surgical factors, on prognosis.

J Curr Surg. 2022;12(1):7-14
doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jcs456