Continuous monitoring of temperature in anesthesia and intensive care

: Continuous surveillance of both regional and general temperatures is of great interest in anaesthesia and intensive care. After a brief review of temperature regulation and the value of temperature control, the authors suggest a simple and reliable method of surveillance. This uses Chromel/Alumel thermocouples connected to a central device used to store the information. An experimental clinical study involved the assessment of 3 different anaesthetic protocols: Taractan-Palfium; Droleptan-Phenoperidine, Fentanyl only. These measurements were made in 30 young subjects undergoing a maxillofacial surgical procedure under identical conditions. The parameters studied were central temperature (rectal) and skin temperature of the index finger. With regard to peripheral temperature curves the results showed a first phase consisting of fall followed by a second phase characterised by a sudden increase up to a plateau. This plateau (3rd phase) persisted as long as the subject slept. The 4th phase, when peripheral temperature fell suddenly to a level sometimes lower than the initial temperature represented one of the first signs of awakening. As far as central temperature was concerned it fell in a linear fashion for all curves. Comparing the different curves obtained, the authors conclude by noting that the more vasoplegic the anaesthetic protocol, the higher the induction peak of the second phase of peripheral temperature pattern, but also that the fall in central temperature was marked. The authors feel that an anaesthetic which is biologically satisfactory and at the same time produces an overall fall in the production of heat without causing chills avoids the development of vasoconstrictor reactions between the care and the surface which are reflected by a decrease in the gradient between central and peripheral temperatures.