perioperative normothermia

perioperative normothermia

Surgery A maneuver that attempts to counter adverse immune effects of perioperative hypothermia, due to anesthetic-induced impairment of thermoregulation, exposure to cold, and altered heat production in tissues, ↓ chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and oxidative killing of bacteria by PMNs, and ↓ resistance to infection in certain bacteria–eg, E coli, S aureus