title: Thermoregulation and risk of surgical site infection.
abstract: Surgical site infections (SSIs) occur in approximately 2%-5% of patients undergoing surgery in the acute care setting in the United States. These infections result in increased length of stay, higher risk of death, and increased cost of care compared with that in uninfected surgical patients. Given the inclusion of maintenance of perioperative normothermia for all major surgeries as a means of lowering the risk of infection in the Surgical Care Improvement Project 2009, we prepared a summary of the literature to determine the strength and quantity of the evidence underlying the performance measure. Although the data are generally supportive of perioperative normothermia as a means of reducing the risk of SSIs, a more rigorous approach using standard SSI definitions as well as standardized temperature measurements (and timing thereof) will further delineate the role played by temperature regulation in SSI development.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine, Department of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA. amb233@case.edu
authors.forename: Amanda M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Beltramini
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Salata
authors.forename: Amy J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ray
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D019990:Perioperative Care; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology