The utility of aggressive intraoperative warming during noncardiac surgery has been called into question by the PROTECT trial.
The groundbreaking study (Lancet 2022;399[10337]:1799-1808)—which included more than 5,000 patients, over five times more than any previous perioperative thermal management trial to date—found that the incidence of a 30-day composite of major cardiovascular outcomes did not differ between patients randomized to routine care (35.5° C) and those who