Clinical effect of using a lower limb warming blanket combined with dexmedetomidine to prevent postoperative delirium and shivering in elderly patients undergoing spinal surgery.

Objective: To observe the clinical effect of using a lower limb warming blanket combined with dexmedetomidine (DEX) to prevent postoperative delirium (POD) and shivering in elderly patients undergoing spinal surgery.

Methods: A total of 160 elderly patients undergoing posterior spinal surgery under general anesthesia were selected and divided into a control group (group N), heating group (group T), DEX group (group D) and heating combined with DEX group (group TD), with 40 patients in each group. The intraoperative anesthesia dosage, changes in body temperature and heart rate at different time points (T1-T6) were compared, as well as the occurrence of postoperative shivering and POD in different groups.

Results: During the entire procedure, the anesthesia dosage was lower in groups D and TD than in groups N and T (p < 0.05). The body temperature of groups N and D exhibited a downwards trend, which decreased significantly at T2. At T2-T4, the heart rate of groups D and TD was lower than that of groups N and T (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Using a lower limb heating blanket combined with DEX can effectively reduce the incidence of POD and postoperative shivering in elderly patients undergoing spinal surgery.