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Observational Examination of Thermoregulation in Total Joint Arthroplasty

Observational Examination of Thermoregulation in Total Joint Arthroplasty

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02225743
Enrollment
120
Registered
2014-08-26
Start date
2014-08-31
Completion date
2015-06-30
Last updated
2019-01-24

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Hypothermia

Keywords

Hypothermia, Total Hip Joint Prosthesis, Total Knee Joint Prosthesis

Brief summary

Total joint patients have poor outcomes with infection since they are having permanent hardware implanted. Infection prevention in this group is therefore critical and a major source of discussion in both the orthopedic and anesthesia literature. Hypothermia has been shown to increase the risk of infection and blood loss. However, studies have not examined when in the operation or how fast patients temperatures drop. This study will observe how patients' temperatures change during total joint arthroplasty. By identifying when body temperature changes occur, prevention strategies may be developed and implemented.

Detailed description

Peri-operative hypothermia can have deleterious effects. While there is no standard consistent definition within the literature mild hypothermia is commonly defined as a core temperature between 34 and 36 °C. Mild hypothermia has been shown to increase the occurrence of surgical site infections, cardiac morbidity, coagulopathy leading to increased blood loss and transfusion requirements, impaired drug metabolism, and prolonged emergence from anesthesia. In addition, there is evidence that maintaining intra-operative normothermia can shorten hospital length of stay. Despite the fact that intra-operative temperature monitoring and warming are considered standard of care, peri-operative hypothermia in total joint arthroplasty patients remains an issue for several reasons. A large proportion of patient undergoing joint replacement are elderly, making them susceptible to peri-operative hypothermia. In addition, regional anesthesia causes vasodilation and promotes heat flow from the core to the periphery and impairs central and autonomic thermoregulation such that patients receiving neuraxial anesthesia can be particularly susceptible to perioperative hypothermia. Finally, core temperature monitoring is typically not used during regional anesthesia and hypothermia may go undetected for long periods of time. The primary goal of this study was to examine the incidence of hypothermia during lower extremity arthroplasty. A secondary aim was to identify patient and operative factors associated with hypothermia in order to improve future preventative strategies. Our hypothesis was that peri-operative hypothermia occurs in the majority of patients undergoing lower extremity arthroplasty. In addition, we hypothesized that certain patient and anesthetic factors (such as low body mass index and receiving general anesthesia) would increase the incidence of hypothermia.

Interventions

OTHERObservation Of Temperature

Participants temperature will be recorded perioperatively.

Sponsors

Medical University of South Carolina
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Observational model
CASE_ONLY
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Adults 18 years of age and over that are scheduled to undergo total hip or total knee joint arthroplasty.

Exclusion criteria

* Patients unable to give informed consent will be excluded.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Incidence of HypothermiaStarting with temperature measurement prior to leaving preoperative holding for OR and ending after temperature taken on arrival in recovery roomThe incidence of ever being hypothermic (temperature \< 36.0 °C at one or more measurements) was the primary outcome. All temperatures were assessed with an Exergen temporal thermometer (precise to 0.1 °C). Each temporal measurement was taken and recorded three times for accuracy and the mean value utilized for data analysis at each time point. Temperatures were measured upon (1) leaving holding area; (2) operating room (OR) arrival; (3) after anesthetic induction; (4) upper body forced air warmer initiation (used for all patients); (5) incision; (6-8) every 30 minutes after incision; (9) leaving the OR; and (10) arrival to PACU. OR temperature and humidity were recorded throughout.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Joint Arthroplasty
Participants undergoing joint replacement Observation Of Temperature: Participants temperature will be recorded perioperatively.
102
Total102

Withdrawals & dropouts

PeriodReasonFG000
Overall StudyWithdrawal by Subject18

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicJoint Arthroplasty
Age, Continuous63.5 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 11.3
Sex: Female, Male
Female
64 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
38 Participants
Total Knee Arthroplasty54 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
— / —
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 102
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 102

Outcome results

Primary

Incidence of Hypothermia

The incidence of ever being hypothermic (temperature \< 36.0 °C at one or more measurements) was the primary outcome. All temperatures were assessed with an Exergen temporal thermometer (precise to 0.1 °C). Each temporal measurement was taken and recorded three times for accuracy and the mean value utilized for data analysis at each time point. Temperatures were measured upon (1) leaving holding area; (2) operating room (OR) arrival; (3) after anesthetic induction; (4) upper body forced air warmer initiation (used for all patients); (5) incision; (6-8) every 30 minutes after incision; (9) leaving the OR; and (10) arrival to PACU. OR temperature and humidity were recorded throughout.

Time frame: Starting with temperature measurement prior to leaving preoperative holding for OR and ending after temperature taken on arrival in recovery room

Population: Ever hypothermic (temperature \<36.0 degrees C) during the perioperative period

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
HypothermiaIncidence of Hypothermia74 Participants

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026