ABSTRACT

Our aim was to investigate the attitudes of anaesthesiologists working in Turkey on perioperative temperature monitoring.

The questionnaire comprised 25 questions. Data were obtained through the completion of the questionnaire by hand or via the web.

Two hundred and four questionnaires were evaluated. Most physicians were working in government hospitals. We determined that 26% of physicians often use temperature monitoring and that physicians working in university hospitals monitor temperature significantly more often. The skin/axilla was the most preferred monitoring site; forced-air warming devices were the most common preferred heating systems. New-borns were the most commonly monitored group, and the Turkish Anaesthesiology and Reanimation Society guideline was the most commonly used reference. Physicians working in university or private hospitals were significantly more able to adjust the operating room temperature on demand.

We observed that physicians adopt different practices to avoid perioperative hypothermia. Although they are aware of the effects of anaesthesia on hypothermia and the contribution of hypothermia to complications, this awareness was not enough for them to make temperature monitoring a routine practice. To make temperature monitoring a standard practice, we believe that more studies should be conducted and that this issue needs to be more frequently addressed in congresses, anaesthesia conferences and particularly in residency training clinics.

Keywords: Hypothermia, anesthesiologists, survey