Relationship Between Intra-Operative Hyperthermia, Post-Operative Fever and Local Infectious Complications in Children Undergoing Cochlear Implant Surgery

Objective: To examine the relationship between Intra-operative hyperthermia (IOH) and post-operative fever (POF) and local complications in children undergoing CI surgery. Study Design: Retrospective cohort study Setting: Tertiary care University Hospital. Participants: The study includes all pediatric CI surgery procedures conducted in one hospital in Israel between 2007 and 2017, A total of 213 CI procedures were performed on 191 children (ages 9 months to 17 years; mean 3.54 years) Main outcome and measure: Clinical data included demographics, type of surgery (unilateral, bilateral), presence of IOH and POF, and local infectious complications within one month after surgery Results: Ten patients (4.9%) developed IOH, of which two developed POF. Of the remaining non-IOH cases (95.1%), 29 children (14.3%) developed POF. IOH correlated with cases of bilateral CI (80% bilateral CI versus 20% unilateral CI; p = 0.002). IOH also correlated with the duration of operation (289 min versus 189 min, respectively; p = 0.025). Local complications were recorded in 30 patients: two that developed POF in the IOH group, and 28 (14.3%) in the non-IOH group. No correlation was observed between the occurrence of either IOH or POF, and the occurrence of local complications. Conclusions: IOH and POF are not uncommon in children undergoing CI surgery, yet, in the present study cohort, both conditions are not associated with the development of local infectious complications. In addition, IOH does not appear to predict the development of POF.