[Effect of deliberate mild hypothermia on the incidence of surgical-wound infection and duration of hospitalization in neurosurgical patients].

We investigated the effect of mild hypothermia on the incidence of surgical-wound infection and duration of hospitalization, retrospectively. We randomly assigned 173 patients undergoing intracranial operation to mild hypothermic group (group H) of 122 patients or normothermic group (group N) of 51 patients. A water blanket and a convective device blanket were used for thermal control in the both groups. The temperature at the tympanic membrane was adjusted to 34.5 degrees C in group H and 36.0 degrees C in group N. Surgical-wound infection was found in 4 of 122 patients (3.3%) of group H but in none of 51 patients (0%) of group N. The duration of hospitalization was 36.0 +/- 25.5 days in group H and 40.2 +/- 36.9 days in group N. There were no statistical differences of the incidence of surgical-wound infection and duration of hospitalization between the two groups. However, the duration to suture removal was significantly longer in group H than in group N (8.3 +/- 1.6 vs 7.8 +/- 0.8 days). Although the effects of deliberate mild hypothermia for neurosurgery on the incidence of surgical-wound infection and duration of hospitalization were little, it may affect the recovery process of such patients.