Impact of short-duration prewarming on postoperative hypothermia in patients undergoing open abdominal surgery under combined epidural and general anaesthesia: A prospective observational study

CONTEXT: Open abdominal procedures under combined general and epidural anaesthesia are at high risk of thermal loss due to prolonged operating times and significant exposure of internal organs. SETTING AND DESIGN: In this prospective observational study, the effects of short-duration prewarming were assessed in participants who underwent open abdominal procedures with combined epidural and general anaesthesia. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 72 patients were observed, with 36 receiving 15 min of prewarming before surgery and 36 receiving warming only during surgery. Core temperature (tympanic) was measured with an infrared thermometer both before prewarming and at the end of surgery. The incidence of postoperative hypothermia (core temperature