The results of this study suggest that preoperative warming can reduce rates of SSI after surgery .
OBJECTIVE To determine whether preoperative warming can reduce the risk of surgical site infection ( SSI ) after surgery .
BACKGROUND Intraoperative hypothermia is a risk factor for the occurrence of  SSI in patients after surgery .
However , the effectiveness of preoperative warming in reducing the incidence of the condition remains unclear .
Association between Normothermia at the End of Surgery and Postoperative Complications following Orthopaedic Surgery.
BACKGROUND Maintaining perioperative normothermia is recommended by recent guidelines for prevention of surgical site infection ( SSI ) . However , the majority of supporting data originates outside the field of orthopaedic surgery . METHODS The effect of normothermia was explored using prospect ively collected data of consecutive patients who underwent single-site surgery in seven tertiary referral hospitals between November 2013 and July 2016 . SSI , urinary ( UTI ) and respiratory ( RTI ) tract infections , cardiac and cerebral events ( CCE ) , and all-cause mortality within 30 days after surgery were compared between patients with normothermia ( body temperature > 36 ° C ) and those with hypothermia ( < 36 ° C ) at the end of surgery , after closure . Multivariable adjusted and inverse-probability weighted regression analyses were performed . RESULTS The final cohort included 8,841 patients . Of these , 11.4 % ( n=1,008 ) were hypothermic . More than 96 % were evaluated in-person by the physicians . After adjusting for multiple covariates , normothermia was not significantly associated with SSI ( adjusted odds ratio [ aOR ] 1.18 [ 95 % CI 0.59 - 2.33 ] ) , UTI ( aOR 1.14 [ 95 % CI 0.66 - 1.95 ] ) , RTI ( aOR 0.60 [ 95 % CI 0.31 - 1.19 ] ) , or CCE ( aOR 0.53 [ 95 % CI 0.26 - 1.09 ] ) . In contrast , normothermia was associated with a lower risk of 30-day mortality ( aOR 0.26 [ 95 % CI 0.11 - 0.64 ] ; P<.01 , weighted hazard ratio 0.21 [ 95 % CI 0.07 - 0.68 ] ; P=.002 ) . In subgroup analysis , normothermia was associated with reduced mortality in all types of surgical procedures . CONCLUSIONS Whereas our findings suggest no clear association with SSI risk following orthopaedic surgery , our study supports maintaining perioperative normothermia , as it is associated with reduced 30-day mortality
The results of this study suggest that preoperative warming can reduce rates of SSI after surgery .
OBJECTIVE To determine whether preoperative warming can reduce the risk of surgical site infection ( SSI ) after surgery .
BACKGROUND Intraoperative hypothermia is a risk factor for the occurrence of  SSI in patients after surgery .
However , the effectiveness of preoperative warming in reducing the incidence of the condition remains unclear .