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Body temperature often is ignored during regional anesthesia, despite evidence that hypothermia occurs commonly. Because hypothermia is associated with adverse clinical outcomes, it is important to recognize predictors of hypothermia and to monitor and control body temperature in patients at risk. The current study was designed to determine the predictors of core hypothermia in patients receiving spinal anesthesia for radical retropubic prostatectomy.

Forty-four patients undergoing radical retropubic prostatectomy were studied. A lumbar intrathecal injection of 18-22 mg bupivacaine, 0.75%, with 20 microg fentanyl was given. No active warming measures were used other than intravenous fluid warming. The following clinical variables were assessed as potential predictors of core (tympanic) temperature at admission to the postanesthesia care unit: duration …