Defining intraoperative hypothermia in ventral hernia repair

Abstract Background Intraoperative normothermia, a single measurement of core body temperature ≥36°C, is an important quality metric outlined by the World Health Organization for the reduction of surgical site infections (SSIs). Hypothermia has been linked to SSI in colorectal and trauma patients, but the effect in ventral hernia repair (VHR) is unknown. Materials and methods Patients who underwent VHR at a single institution between 2005 and 2012 were included. Temperature data were matched with National Surgical Quality Improvement Program SSI data. Novel definitions of hypothermia were explored: patient temperature nadir, percentage of time spent at the nadir, mean temperature, and time spent