Preoperative blood pressure and intraoperative hypothermia during lower abdominal surgery

Background: Preoperative factors including age and body habitus affect intraoperative hypothermia during general anesthesia. We hypothesized that preoperative blood pressure also plays a contributory role in the induction of intraoperative hypothermia. Methods: We evaluated the effect of preoperative systolic blood pressure (SBP) on core temperature during lower abdominal surgery under general anesthesia. In 36 female patients under 65 years of age, patients with a preoperative SBP of 140 mmHg or greater upon arrival in the operating theater were assigned to the high SBP group (n=18), while those with SBP below 140 mmHg were assigned to the normal SBP group (n=18). Anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane and nitrous oxide combined with epidural buprenorphine, and routine thermal care was provided intraoperatively. Results: There were no significant differences in age, height or weight between the two groups. Tympanic membrane temperature in the normal SBP group started to decrease significantly from 15 min after induction of anesthesia compared to that in the high SBP group, and continued to decrease further at two hours after induction. Vasoconstriction threshold, determined to be tympanic membrane temperature at the time when a forearm minus finger skin surface gradient exceeded 0 degreesC, was significantly higher in the high SBP group than in the normal SBP group. Conclusion: These results suggest that preoperative SBP has some preventive effect on the decrease in intraoperative core temperature during lower abdominal surgery under general anesthesia.