title: Medication safety: does intravenous acetaminophen promote perioperative hypothermia for total hip arthroplasty?
abstract: As an effective antipyretic with a yet-unknown mechanism-of-action, intravenous (IV) acetaminophen use for total hip arthroplasties (THA) may worsen perioperative hypothermia when combined with the known hypothermia-inducing effects of general anesthesia (GA), affecting wound healing, recovery times, and patient satisfaction. This retrospective chart review of primary THA cases compared perioperative heat loss for patients who received IV acetaminophen with GA (group A, n = 74) to those receiving GA alone (group B, n = 197). All patients received forced-air warming blankets. Neuraxial anesthesia cases were excluded. No significant temperature differences existed between group A (-0.33°C, SD = 0.36) and group B (-0.30°C, SD = 0.34, P > 0.05). IV acetaminophen use for THA does not appear to promote hypothermia under general anesthesia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York.
authors.forename: Ognjen
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Visnjevac
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York.
authors.forename: Remek
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kocz
authors.affiliation: Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Visnjevac
authors.affiliation: Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center, West Islip, New York.
authors.forename: Sandeep Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Annam
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Toufexis
mesh_terms: D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*; D061605:Administration, Intravenous; D000368:Aged; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000009:adverse effects; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000082:Acetaminophen
keywords: acetaminophen; general anesthesia; hypothermia; patient satisfaction; total hip arthroplasty