Preoperative carbohydrate-rich beverage reduces hypothermia during general anesthesia in rats

Purpose: Intraoperative hypothermia is associated with several unfavorable events; therefore, it is important to prevent the development of hypothermia. Amino acid consumption and/or infusion have been reported to prevent hypothermia. We hypothesized that preoperative carbohydrate-rich beverage (Arginaid Water™) loading can reduce intraoperative hypothermia in rats under general anesthesia. Methods: We divided 18 rats into 3 groups (group A, 8 mL/kg of saline; group B, 8 mL/kg of a carbohydrate-rich beverage; and group C, 21 mL/kg of the carbohydrate-rich beverage). The rats were administered each beverage at the abovementioned doses via an oral gastric tube 30 min before the induction of anesthesia. During the 2-h general anesthesia, rectal temperature was measured at 20-min intervals. Serum ketone body concentration was measured at 0 and 120 min. Results: The baseline temperature was not significantly different among the groups. At the end of the experiment, group A showed a significantly greater decrease in temperature from the baseline (5.4 ± 0.8°C) than group B (3.9 ± 0.7°C, P = 0.01) and group C (3.8 ± 0.8°C, P = 0.01). The temperatures in groups B and C were not significantly different. There was no significant change in the serum ketone body concentration from the baseline at the end of the experiment in group A. However, the serum ketone body concentrations in group B and group C were significantly decreased from the baseline. Conclusion: Preoperative carbohydrate loading reduces hypothermia in rats under general anesthesia.