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S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4
Patients who are hypothermic during colorectal surgery
are 3 times as likely to suffer a surgical site infection.
a.
true
b.
false
Answer:
a
Hypothermia can increase patients' susceptibility to surgical site infections
by causing vasoconstriction and impaired immunity. Hypothermia limits the
body's immune function and decreases the cutaneous blood flow, which
reduces tissue oxygen delivery. This in turn increases the chance of a wound
infection and also impairs the wound-healing process. As mentioned, vaso-
constriction occurs when the core body temperature decreases, which is a
protective mechanism to divert blood to the center of the body and help
maintain the normal body temperature. The reduction of nutrient and oxygen
supply to wounds will increase the frequency of surgical site infections.
Drug metabolism is affected when
the body's core temperature drops by __________.
a.
1.0°C
c.
3.0°C
b.
2.0°C
d.
4.0°C
Answer:
a
Unintended hypothermia can alter the effects of many drugs, such as muscle
relaxants and inhalation and intravenous anesthetic agents. Hepatic and renal
blood flow can be diminished with mild hypothermia, which in turn will
decrease metabolism and drug excretion, while increasing drug effects.
Increasing the impact of sedatives or muscle relaxants, for example, can extend
a patient's time in recovery, delay discharges and have a negative impact on effi-
cient patient flow and perhaps your bottom line.
P A T I E N T W A R M I N G
