Hypothermia in infants : the important factors

الملخص EN

A prospective consecutive observational study over a pe¬riod of six months was conducted in the pediatric surgical theatre of Hamad General Hospital, Qatar ; on infants aged one day to one year who required general anesthesia with or without regional anesthesia.

It was found that neonates (aged 1-29 days) had difficulty in maintaining a stable body temperature despite various methods of promoting warmth.

Infants (aged 1-12 months) undergoing major surgery were more exposed to hypothermia than those in minor surgery.

Causes of hypothermia were multifactorial.