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OBJECTIVE: Inadvertent hypothermia (body temperature below 35°C) is a common and avoidable challenge during surgery under anaesthesia. It is related to coagulation (clotting) disorders, an increase in blood loss, and a higher rate of wound infection. One of the methods for non-invasive monitoring of the core body temperature is the 3M SpotOn zero heat flux method. In this approach, sensors placed at the frontal region of the patient measure the skin temperature by creating an isothermic channel. The study aimed to determine the risk factors for hypothermia and compare the 3M SpotOn zero heat flux method with the tympanic membrane (eardrum) and oesophageal (food pipe) temperature measurement methods. DESIGN: Observational. DATA SOURCES: The patients' data were collected, including age, gender, weight, BMI, other illnesses, smoking history, type of anaesthesia, duration of surgery, operating room temperature, pulse rate, blood pressure, blood loss, and transfusions. Body temperature was measured by the tympanic membrane method before and after surgery, oesophageal method during surgery, and SpotOn measurements throughout all three periods were recorded. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Inclusion criteria was: adult patients, both genders, who had undergone major abdominal cancer surgery at the trialists' institution, in whom the SpotOn zero heat flux, tympanic membrane, and oesophageal temperature measurement methods had all been used. Participant exclusion criteria was the absence of recorded data. RESULTS: In this study, inadvertent intraoperative hypothermia incidence was 38.1% in the recovery room. Although gender, presence of comorbidities, history of smoking, administration of epidural anaesthesia, and requirement of blood transfusion [red blood cells (RBCs) and fresh frozen plasma (FFP)] did not affect hypothermia significantly during admission to the recovery room, prewarming the patient throughout the operation prevented the occurrence of hypothermia significantly (p=0.004). Additionally, as the American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) physical status score worsened, the rate of hypothermia increased significantly (Frequency: 1st degree, 29.4%; 2nd degree, 47.5%; 3rd degree, 66.7%; X2 Slope- p=0.047). CONCLUSION: The most significant risk factor was found to be not prewarming the patient as a strict procedure, and as the ASA physical status score worsened, the rate of hypothermia increased significantly. Besides, the SpotOn method provided temperature measurements as good as the oesophageal temperature measurements. Clinical Trial registration: ISRCTN 14027708.
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Background: The aim of this study was to determine whether incision irrigation with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) reduces surgical site infections (SSIs) in pilonidal disease surgery. Methods: Between 2013 and 2018, patients who underwent wide excision with primary closure for pilonidal disease were enrolled in this prospective observational multi-institutional cohort. The incision was irrigated with either saline or 0.05% CHG before skin closure. The infection risk of each patient was determined by the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System. Post-operative site care and follow-up were carried out according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guideline by two surgeons blinded to the irrigation solution used. Surgical site infection rates in the saline and 0.05% CHG groups were compared. The secondary outcomes were seroma formation, incision dehiscence, and time to healing. Results: There were 129 patients in the control group and 138 patients in the CHG group. The mean age was 25.1 ± 5.4, and 225 patients (84.3%) were male. Surgical site infection was seen in 35 patients (13.1%): 26 (20.2%) in the control group and 9 (6.5%) in the CHG group (p = 0.001). There were no differences in seroma formation (n = 12; 9.3% in the control vs n = 12; 8.7% in the CHG group; p = 0.515) or incision dehiscence (n = 9; 7% in the control vs n = 9; 6.5% in the CHG group; p = 0.537). The primary healing rate was higher in the CHG group (n = 130; 94.2%) than in the control group (n = 104; 80.6%). Time to healing was 20.5 ± 7.8 days in the control group and 16 ± 4.3 days in the CHG group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Intra-operative incision irrigation with CHG decreased the SSI rate and time to healing in pilonidal disease surgery. Further randomized trials should focus on specific irrigation methods and procedures to build a consensus on the effect of incision irrigation on SSIs.