While much effort has been devoted to correcting intraoperative hypothermia and documenting the adverse outcomes associated with hypothermia, less attention has been directed to preventing redistribution hypothermia in the first place. Methods currently exist that can reduce the magnitude of redistribution hypothermia, but are not widely practiced. This chapter focuses on the pathophysiology of redistribution hypothermia and the currently available methods that can be employed to reduce redistribution hypothermia. Additional promising, but currently unproven, methods are discussed. Since hypothermia causes adverse outcomes, it is anticipated that the reduction in redistribution hypothermia will improve patient outcome.
Part of the book: Autonomic Nervous System Monitoring