Keywords
Benign strictures - ERC topics - Sedation and monitoring
Introduction
Even moderate perioperative hypothermia can result in potentially serious complications
[1]. These include increased mortality, cardiac complications such as arrhythmias and
myocardial ischemia, coagulation disorders as well as increased transfusion requirements
and oxygen consumption [2]
[3]
[4]
[5]. Postoperative shivering, changes in potassium serum concentrations and peripheral
vasoconstriction are also relevant side effects of perioperative hypothermia [6].
During complex endoscopic procedures such as endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
(ERCP), deep medical sedation of the patient is routinely performed and theoretically,
these patients also may be at high risk for developing hypothermia [7]. However, if hypothermia actually occurs in a significant portion of patients during
prolonged endoscopic interventions is unclear to the present time.
Perioperative hypothermia can be prevented by using temperature control devices such
as forced-air heating systems (FAHS) in accordance with current anesthesiology guidelines
[8]
[9]
[10]. However, the prevention of hypothermia during endoscopic procedures by active warming
devices has not been addressed in current endoscopic sedation guidelines due to lack
of evidence of benefit in these patients [11]
[12].
We hypothesized that in the context of endoscopic interventions associated with longer
sedation time, such as ERCP, periinterventional hypothermia occurs in a significant
proportion of patients and may be prevented by using FAHS.
This explorative prospective observational study, therefore, investigated the occurrence
of hypothermia during ERCP interventions as well as its potential prevention by FAHS
(“Forced Air Heating to Prevent Hypothermia During Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiography”
= FAIRHEC study).
Patients and methods
Study population
This was a prospective observational study at a tertiary endoscopy unit. All patients
undergoing ERCP were screened for meeting pre-defined inclusion criteria from March
2022 to May 2023.
The local institutional review board (Nr. 9942_BO_S_2021) approved the study protocol,
and written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to study inclusion.
The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the
1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. The study was prospectively
registered at clinicaltrials.gov (Identifier: NCT05138172).
Inclusion and exclusion criteria
For this study, only patients were recruited who foreseeably would receive multiple
comparable ERCP interventions (e.g. patients with complex benign biliary obstructive
disease), so that later comparison of sedation with and without use of FAHS would
be possible in the same patient. This study design has the advantage of compensating
for the otherwise large individual differences (pre-existing conditions, anesthesiologic
risk, age, temperature sensibility) with regard to the risk of hypothermia occurrence.
Inclusion criteria, therefore, were: 1) an indication to receive repeated (≥ 2 expected
interventions) ERCPs due to chronic benign obstructive biliary disease, including
primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), ischemic-type biliary lesion (ITBL) after liver
transplantation (LTX), anastomotic stenosis after LTX, and secondary sclerosing cholangitis
(SSC); and 2) necessary intravenous medical sedation expected to be required for >
30 minutes. Exclusion criteria were pregnancy, inability to give informed consent,
and age <18 years.
Intervention: Standard of care and forced-air heating system
Each patient received two consecutive ERCP procedures. The first ERCP was performed
with sedation following current SOC recommendations in Germany without using FAHS
(SOC group) [11]. SOC consisted of wrapping patients in their own bedspread without further active
warming measures. A consecutive second ERCP was then performed using additive FAHS
(FAHS group). In the FAHS group, a Twinwarm (Generation III, Moeck & Moeck GmbH, Hamburg,
Germany) was used for FAHS. Prewarming was performed for an average of 10 minutes
before the start of the examination and the administration of sedation agents. The
warming device was set to a ventilation level of 5 and a temperature of 43°C. It was
specified that if the body temperature was > 37.5°C, the temperature of the device
should be lowered accordingly, but the ventilation level should be maintained to prevent
burns. These specifications were taken from the April 2021 local SOP "Thermal Management"
guidelines of April 2021 of the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine
at MHH and the German S3 guideline on prevention of inadvertent perioperative hypothermia
[10]. All procedures were performed in the same examination room. Room temperature and
humidity were kept constant by a ventilation/air conditioning system at around 22°C
and 41%, respectively. Room temperature was measured at three time points during sedation,
with later calculation of a mean value using a room thermometer (Bresser GmbH, Rhede,
Germany).
During interventions, in addition to intermittent assessment of standard vital signs
(heart rate, non-invasive blood pressure, oxygen saturation, electrocardiogram), the
nasopharyngeal core body-temperature was continuously measured using a 10F nasopharyngeal
temperature sensor (Teleflex Medical, Athlone, Ireland) and recorded every 10 minutes.
The
nasopharyngeal temperature sensor has a measuring accuracy of ± 0,2°C over a temperature
range of 25°C to 45°C. During ERCP, no procedures requiring electrocautery devices
(e.g.
sphincterotomy or argon plasma coagulation) were performed.
Sedation was administered intravenously (IV) with an initial bolus of approximately
0.1 mg/kg of individual patient body weight of propofol and subsequent repeated preservation
doses of 10 to 20 mg of propofol depending on sedation needs. Additional midazolam
was only used if sedation with propofol alone did not yield satisfactory depth of
sedation or if occurrence of hypotension temporarily prohibited the further use of
propofol. No continuous administration of propofol or midazolam was used.
Directly before the start and after the end of sedation, a venous blood gas analysis
was performed using a point of care (POC) system (Radiometer, Bronshoj, Denmark).
Endpoints
The primary endpoint was the patient's maximum body temperature difference, based
on the body temperature at the start of sedation and the lowest body temperature during
intervention.
The two key secondary endpoints were the percentage of patients with a decrease below
36°C for ≥ 2 minutes (the threshold of mild hypothermia) at any time during intervention
and the percentage of patients with a decrease in temperature from baseline of > 1°C
at any time during intervention.
Further secondary endpoints were hemodynamic and respiratory stability during intervention
and subjective patient satisfaction after intervention.
For hemodynamic stability, the following parameters were assessed: lowest mean arterial
pressure (MAP) during sedation; percentage of patients with a reduction of MAP to
below 65 mm Hg; percentage of patients with a reduction of MAP of at least 25% from
baseline; percentage of patients with a heart rate (HR) > 100 beats per minute (bpm);
percentage of patients with an increase in HR of at least 25% from baseline; cumulative
amount of IV fluid administered during sedation; and percentage of patients requiring
vasopressors.
For respiratory stability, the following were assessed: percentage of patients with
a reduction in peripheral oxygen saturation (O2-sat) to < 90%; percentage of patients requiring oxygen nasal flow > 2 L/min; maximum
needed oxygen flow; percentage of patients requiring Wendel tube insertion and mask
ventilation in case of a critical drop in O2-sat.
Subjective patient satisfaction was examined 6 hours after intervention by employing
three quantitative scoring systems. The "Quality of Recovery Score, German modification
of Eberhart et al.” [13] (score ranging from 0 to 18 points, with higher scores indicating higher patient
satisfaction) and a “modified Deutsche Gesellschaft für Anästhesiologie und Intensivmedizin
Score (mDGAI)" (score ranging from 0 to 8 points with higher scores indicating higher
patient satisfaction) [14] were used to assess general satisfaction with sedation. In addition, a quantitative
assessment of subjective degree of freezing during or following sedation (ranging
from 0 to 10 points with higher scores indicating more intense feeling of freezing)
was performed.
Case number calculation
The required number of cases for the study was calculated prior to study initiation
using the following hypothetical assumptions: patients are normothermic (37°C body
temperature) at baseline; the temperature decreases by an average of 1.1°C during
the initial examination without the use of FAHS and during the second examination
- with the use of FAHS - the body temperature drops by an average of only 0.5°C. This
results in an effect size of 0.6; with an alpha of 0.05 and a study power of 80%,
a case number of 24 patients results. To compensate for possible drop-outs, an additional
12% were added to the number of cases (total of 27 patients). For final analysis,
24 patients (linked comparison) were included (two excluded due to sedation < 30 minutes
and one for invalid temperature measurements).
Statistical analysis
Data are presented as median (25% to 75% interquartile range [IQR]). Two-tailed P < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. Comparisons of population
characteristics between the SOC and the FAHS group were performed using paired t-tests,
Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and χ2 tests, as appropriate. In order to compare temperature courses within groups during
predefined time points (baseline and every 10min until end of sedation) ANOVA tests
were used. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted. In the
multivariate analysis, all characteristics that were tested in univariate analysis
before were entered in a forward conditional model. Statistical analysis was performed
using GraphPad Prism 7 (La Jolla, California, United States) and SPSS Statistics (IBM);
graphs were generated by GraphPad Prism.
Results
Patient cohort
Based on the strict inclusion criteria allowing later linked comparison in the same
patient, of 509 initially screened patients undergoing ERCP, 24 patients were included
for final analysis ([Fig. 1]). All 24 patients received the first ERCP without FAHS (SOC group) and the following
ERCP with FAHS (FAHS group) and were then compared in a linked strategy. Demographic,
clinical and procedural characteristics are demonstrated in [Table 1]. The most common indications for ERCP were PSC and ITBL after LTX. Lab values of
cholestasis, MELD scores, procedure duration, performed endoscopic procedures, and
cumulative sedation doses were comparable between the two groups.
Table 1 Demographic, clinical, and procedure characteristics
Category
|
All (n = 24)
|
SOC (n = 24)
|
FAHS (n = 24)
|
P
|
AP, alkaline phosphatase; BMI, body mass index; FAHS, with forced-air heating system;
GGT, gamma glutamyl transferase; ITBL, ischemic-type biliary lesions; LTX, liver transplantation;
MELD, model of end-stage liver disease; SOC, standard of care (without forced-air
heating).
|
Age, years
|
55 (39–63)
|
|
|
|
Sex, no (%)
|
|
|
|
|
Female
|
7 (29)
|
|
|
|
Male
|
17 (71)
|
|
|
|
BMI, kg/m2
|
23.4 (20.5–62.5)
|
|
|
|
Indication for ERCP, no (%)
|
|
|
|
|
PSC
|
13 (54)
|
|
|
|
ITBL
|
10 (42)
|
|
|
|
Anastomotic stenosis
|
4 (17)
|
|
|
|
Liver cirrhosis, no (%)
|
4 (17)
|
|
|
|
LTX, no (%)
|
12 (50)
|
|
|
|
AP, U/L
|
|
272 (167–470)
|
242 (178–365)
|
0.67
|
GGT, U/L
|
|
208 (46–382)
|
213 (47–471)
|
0.772
|
Bilirubin total, µmol/L
|
|
17 (9–39)
|
15 (9–26)
|
0.789
|
MELD
|
|
8 (6–13)
|
8 (6–13)
|
0.834
|
Endoscopic procedures performed, no (%)
|
|
|
|
|
Sphincterotomy
|
|
0 (0)
|
0 (0)
|
–
|
Biliary dilation
|
|
17 (71)
|
18 (75)
|
0.745
|
Biliary stenting
|
|
10 (42)
|
10 (42)
|
1
|
Procedure duration, min
|
|
42 (35–50)
|
48 (34–65)
|
0.541
|
Room temperature, °C
|
|
22 (21–22)
|
22 (21–22)
|
0.778
|
Cumulative propofol dose, mg
|
|
475 (408–673)
|
530 (390–673)
|
0.659
|
Cumulative midazolam dose, mg
|
|
3 (2–5)
|
3 (2–5)
|
0.56
|
Fig. 1 Flow chart of study participants. Shown are the screening and enrollment of patients
into the observational study. Included were adult patients undergoing repeated endoscopic
retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with an expected sedation duration of more
than 30 minutes. The study compared the standard of care (SOC group) with additive
use of a forced-air heating system (FAHS group) in a linked comparison.
Temperature-associated endpoints
Baseline body temperature at the start of sedation was comparable between the two
groups
(SOC: 36.0°C (35.6; 36.5); FAHS: 36.0°C (25.5; 36.2), P = 0.713,
[Fig. 2]a, [Fig. 2]b). While patient temperature started to continuously decrease in the SOC group from
shortly after the start of sedation (P < 0.001), it remained
stable in the FAHS group (p = 0.152) ([Fig. 2]
a). At 20 minutes after the start of sedation, patient
temperature was already significantly lower in the SOC group and remained significantly
lower at all further routinely recorded time points at 30, 40, and 50 minutes ([Fig. 2]
a). The lowest recorded temperature was 35.2°C (34.6; 35.7)
in the SOC and 35.8°C (35.5; 36.2) in the FAHS group (P <
0.001) ([Fig. 2]
b). Consequently, patient maximum body temperature
difference (based on the body temperature at the start of sedation and the lowest
body
temperature during intervention) was −0.9°C (−1.2; −0.4) in the SOC and −0.1°C (−0.2;
0.0)
in the FAHS group (P < 0.001) ([Fig. 2]
c). The relative drop in temperature was −2.5% (−3.3; −1.2)
in the SOC and −0.3% (−0.6; 0.0) (P < 0.001) in the FAHS group
([Fig. 2]
d). A reduction in core body temperature > 1°C (P < 0.001) occurred significantly more often in the SOC than in
the FAHS group ([Table 2]). Mild hypothermia–defined as a drop of temperature < 36°C - occurred in 88% and
54% of patients in the SOC and the FAHS groups (P = 0.011),
respectively ([Table 2]). Subjective feeling of freezing during or following sedation was significantly
more
pronounced in the SOC group (4/10 [3/10–7/10]) than in the FAHS group (0/10 [0/10–1.5/10])
(P = 0.004) ([Fig. 2]
e). Importantly, mean room temperature was not different
between the two groups ([Fig. 2]
f).
Table 2 Secondary endpoints
Category
|
SOC (n = 24)
|
FAHS (n = 24)
|
P
|
FAHS, with forced-air heating system; HR, heart rate; IV, intravenous; MAP, mean arterial
pressure; mDGAI score, modified Deutsche Gesellschaft für Anästhesiologie und Intensivmedizin
score; O2-sat, (peripheral) oxygen saturation; QoR score, quality of recovery score; SOC, standard
of care (without forced-air heating).
|
Temperature stability
|
Temperature reduction > 1°C, no (%)
|
10 (42)
|
0 (0)
|
< 0.001
|
Temperature < 36°C, no (%)
|
21 (88)
|
13 (54)
|
0.01
|
Temperature reduction max, % from baseline
|
−2.5 (−3.3/−1.2)
|
−0.3 (−0.6/0)
|
< 0.001
|
Hemodynamic stability
|
MAP lowest, mmHg
|
81 (68–92)
|
79 (69–92)
|
1
|
MAP < 65 mm Hg, no (%)
|
1 (4)
|
2 (8)
|
0.551
|
MAP reduction >25% from baseline, no (%)
|
5 (21)
|
4 (17)
|
0.712
|
HR > 100 bpm
|
5 (21)
|
6 (25)
|
0.731
|
HR increase >25% from baseline, no (%)
|
4 (17)
|
8 (33)
|
0.182
|
Cumulative IV fluids, mL
|
1000 (175–1000)
|
500 (0–700)
|
0.058
|
Requiring vasopressor, no (%)
|
1 (4)
|
0 (0)
|
0.312
|
Respiratory stability
|
Reduction of O2-Sat < 90%, no (%)
|
2 (8)
|
4 (17)
|
0.383
|
Requiring oxygen flow > 2 L/min, no (%)
|
3 (13)
|
6 (25)
|
0.267
|
Max. required oxygen flow, L/min
|
2 (2–2)
|
2 (2–3.5)
|
0.945
|
Requiring Wendel tube insertion, no (%)
|
1 (4)
|
1 (4)
|
1
|
Requiring mask ventilation, no (%)
|
0 (0)
|
0 (0)
|
–
|
Subjective patient satisfaction
|
Subjective freezing (0–10 points)
|
4 (3–7)
|
0 (0–1.5)
|
0.004
|
QoR score
|
16 (14–18)
|
17 (16–18)
|
0.47
|
mDGAI score
|
3 (2–4)
|
3 (1–4)
|
0.547
|
Fig. 2 Temperature-associated endpoints. Shown are primary and secondary temperature-associated
clinical outcomes of patients receiving standard-of-care treatment (SOC) and of patients
who received additive treatment with a forced-air heating system (FAHS). a Temperature course in both groups at the start of sedation and at 10-, 20-, 30-,
40-, and 50-minute sedation time. The mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM). Between-group
differences at the same time point are compared using paired t-tests. Within-group longitudinal differences are compared using ANOVA tests. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. b Violin plots showing baseline and lowest temperature. c Patient maximum absolute body temperature difference (based on the body temperature
at the start of sedation and the lowest body temperature during the intervention).
d Patient maximum relative body temperature difference. e Subjective impression of freezing during or following sedation (ranging from 0 to
10 points, with higher scores indicating a more pronounced impression of freezing).
f Mean room temperatures in both the SOC and the FAHS group.
Further secondary endpoints
Hemodynamic and respiratory stability during sedation was mostly comparable between
the two groups ([Table 2]). There was a numerical but not significant trend toward lower cumulative IV fluid
administration in the FAHS group. Subjective general patient satisfaction with sedation,
measured by QoR and mDGAI score, was high in both groups. BGA analysis demonstrated
a slight increase in venous pCO2 pressures during sedation that were comparable between the two groups (Supplementary Fig. 1a). No significant abnormalities or differences were observed in pH, lactate, or potassium
concentration in either group (Supplementary Fig. 1b, Supplementary Fig. 1c, Supplementary Fig. 1d).
Parameters associated with occurrence of hypothermia
As an exploratory analysis, the parameters age, sex, BMI, cumulative propofol dose,
procudure duration, room temperature, MELD score, baseline temperature and FAHS were
first entered in a univariate model, followed by a multivariate logistic regression
model for the endpoint occurrence of hypothermia (temperature < 36°C) ([Table 3]). In both the univariate and multivariate analyses, only higher baseline temperature
and use of FAHS had a significant and protective effect on hypothermia risk (OR multivariate
for FAHS: 0.009 (0–0.26), P = 0.006)).
Table 3 Parameters associated with occurrence of hypothermia (temperature < 36°C).
Parameter
|
|
Univariate
|
|
|
Multivariate
|
|
|
OR
|
95% CI
|
P
|
OR
|
95% CI
|
P
|
BMI, body mass index; CI, confidence interval; FAHS, forced-air heating system; MELD,
model of end-stage liver disease; OR, odds ratio.
|
Age, years
|
1.04
|
0.99–1.09
|
0.079
|
|
|
|
Sex, female
|
0.75
|
0.2–2.8
|
0.669
|
|
|
|
BMI, kg/m2
|
0.95
|
0.83–1.1
|
0.505
|
|
|
|
Cumulative propofol dose, mg
|
1
|
0.98–1
|
0.85
|
|
|
|
Procedure duration, min
|
0.99
|
0.96–1.03
|
0.707
|
|
|
|
Room temperature, °C
|
0.99
|
0.51–1.94
|
0.984
|
|
|
|
MELD score, points
|
0.97
|
0.84–1.13
|
0.724
|
|
|
|
Baseline temperature, °C
|
0.05
|
0.01–0.34
|
0.002
|
0.002
|
0–0.15
|
0.005
|
FAHS
|
0.17
|
0.04–0.72
|
0.016
|
0.009
|
0–0.26
|
0.006
|
Discussion
This pilot prospective observational study, employing 1:1 matching in repeated ERCP
procedures for chronic biliary obstruction, investigated occurrence of hypothermia
and the use of FAHS to prevent it during prolonged endoscopic sedation. Hypothermia
occurred in a significant proportion of patients and FAHS was associated with significantly
higher temperature stability during sedation as well as better patient comfort.
Perioperative inadvertent hypothermia occurs quite commonly and is defined as a patient core body temperature < 36.0°C [15]. In contrast, no data exist regarding whether hypothermia also occurs in a significant
proportion of patients undergoing prolonged sedation for complex endoscopic procedures.
In the present study, hypothermia occurred in 88% of patients (if no prophylaxis by
FAHS was initiated) and temperature dropped in these patients by approximately 1°C.
Median sedation time was still < 50 minutes, prompting speculation as to whether such
an effect might have been even more pronounced in complex endoscopic procedures requiring
longer sedation times; for example, endoscopic submucosa dissections, peroral endoscopic
myotomies, or endoscopic ultrasonography by the rendezvous technique. Of note, no
interventions requiring electrocautery devices (e.g. sphincterotomy, argon plasma
coagulation) potentially causing hot gas development and, therefore, potentially falsifying
temperature measurements were used during the study.
Today, most gastrointestinal endoscopies are performed under moderate sedation. Numerous
studies from Europe and North America have shown that nurse-administered propofol
sedation (NAPS) is feasible and safe, provided it is performed in appropriately selected
patients and endoscopies [16]
[17]
[18]
[19]. In Germany, uncomplicated endoscopic examinations have been carried out by properly
trained non-anesthesia staff in outpatient and inpatient settings for years and this
is supported by the sedation guideline from the German Society for Gastroenterology
and Digestive and Metabolic Diseases (DGVS) [12]. However, in contrast to the regular monitoring of vital signs under moderate sedation,
the measurement of body temperature is not implemented as a standard during endoscopic
procedures [11]
[12]
[20]. In contrast, in anesthesiology, body temperature remains one of the most closely
monitored parameters in the perioperative setting. Due to the further development
of endoscopic techniques and new methods in recent years, endoscopic interventions
are becoming longer and more complex and, therefore, longer, so that greater attention
must also be paid to temperature monitoring and hypothermia prophylaxis. Optimized
perioperative thermal management is comparatively simple but contributes significantly
to patient safety and comfort and is firmly established in anesthesia and surgery
guidelines for pre-intervention, peri-intervention, and post-intervention [20]
[21]. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) guidelines recommend that "every
patient receiving anesthesia shall have temperature monitored when clinically significant
changes in body temperature are intended, anticipated or suspected" [22]. According to the ASA, temperature measurement is a basic SOC and should be continually
monitored during an anesthesia [22]. The World Health Organization (WHO) released a systematic review demonstrating
the benefits of maintaining normothermia preoperatively through postoperatively [23]. Of interest, the baseline temperature at the start of sedation of approximately
36°C (despite active prewarming) was lower than initially expected in both groups.
At the same time, in the present study, lower baseline temperature was associated
with an increased risk of hypothermia during later sedation. This together demonstrates
that we may still underestimate individual patient waiting time and its inherent risk
of promoting later onset of hypothermia during subsequent sedation.
Options for hypothermia prophylaxis include pre-warming and peri-interventional active
or passive warming. Active prewarming using a FAHS has been shown to be effective
in preventing unintended hypothermia during the perioperative period [24] and active prewarming should be performed over a period of 10 to 30 minutes [25]. Active peri-interventional warming can be achieved by using a FAHS, as opposed
to passive warming, which is done by using blankets. Studies have shown that active
warming by FAHS is superior to passive warming in preventing inadvertent hypothermia
during surgery and postoperatively [26]. It was unclear, however, if FAHS can also be safely and effectively used in the
context of prolonged sedation for endoscopic procedures.
In the present study, temperature dropped in the SOC group by almost 1°C, while it
remained constant in the same patients then receiving a second ERCP with active temperature
control by FAHS. Hypothermia occurred significantly more often in patients not receiving
FAHS and FAHS use was significantly associated with protection from hypothermia in
both univariate and multivariate regression analyses.
Although most anesthesiology sedation guidelines consider it standard that a sedation
time > 30 minutes requires active temperature control and preservation measures [8]
[9]
[10], these recommendations are missing in endoscopic guidelines due to a lack of data
supporting their routine use [11]. To our knowledge, this is the first prospective evaluation of active temperature
control during prolonged sedation for endoscopic procedures showing a benefit of such
a strategy in preservation of patient temperature.
This study has some limitations, mainly its relatively small sample size and
non-randomized nature. In addition, inherent in the linked comparison design of this
investigation, only a subset of the initially screened patients with benign biliary
strictures
then expected to receive repeated comparable complex ERCP procedures, were included,
imposing
the risk of a selection bias on the results of this study. On the other hand, this
study
design, allowing for repeated measures calculations and therefore yielding comparable
baseline
and procedural characteristics, has the advantage of compensating for the otherwise
potentially large individual patient differences (pre-existing conditions, anesthesiologic
risk, age, temperature sensibility) with regard to the risk of hypothermia occurrence.
An
additional limitation is the measuring inaccuracy of ± 0,2°C of the temperature probe
with
respect to the absolute temperature difference of 0.9°C and the temperature recording
interval
of 10 minutes.
This study was primarily designed as a pilot study demonstrating superior temperature
control by using FAHS and thus, it was not powered to demonstrate differences in clinical
outcome parameters such as hemodynamic or respiratory stability. Therefore, secondary
endpoints should be assessed only with significant caution. Sedation time might be
even longer in other complex endoscopic procedures, such as endoscopic submucosa dissections,
and the present data reporting exclusively on ERCP procedures are not readily transferrable
to these patient populations. In summary, this study should be interpreted as a pilot
investigation that needs further exploration in larger future studies.
Conclusions
This is the first prospective study that suggests that hypothermia is indeed occurring
in a significant proportion of patients undergoing prolonged endoscopic examinations,
and further, that FAHS is effective in preventing hypothermia in these patients. Future
larger interventional studies are need to evaluate whether active temperature control
is also associated with improved clinical outcomes and patient comfort during prolonged
endoscopic sedation.