Bmc Surg
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Preventing hypothermia in elective arthroscopic shoulder surgery patients: a protocol for a randomised controlled trial.
Patients having arthroscopic shoulder surgery frequently experience periods of inadvertent hypothermia. This common perioperative problem has been linked to adverse patient outcomes such as myocardial ischaemia, surgical site infection and coagulopathy. International perioperative guidelines recommend patient warming, using a forced air warming device, and the use of warmed intraoperative irrigation solutions for the prevention of hypothermia in at-risk patient groups. This trial will investigate the effect of these interventions on patients' temperature, thermal comfort, and total recovery time. ⋯ This trial is designed to confirm the effectiveness of these interventions at maintaining perioperative normothermia and to evaluate if this translates into improved patient outcomes. AUSTRALIAN NEW ZEALAND CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY NUMBER: ACTRN12610000591055.