Effect of delivery room temperature on the admission temperature of premature infants: a randomized controlled trial

Objective:to determine if increasing delivery room temperature to that recommended by the world health organization results in increased admission temperatures of preterm infants.study design:admission rectal temperatures of newborns ⩽32 weeks gestation delivered in rooms with temperature set at 24 to 26 °c were compared with those of similar newborns delivered in rooms with temperature set at 20 to 23 °c.result:premature newborns delivered in rooms with mean temperature 25.1±0.6 °c (n=43), compared with those delivered in rooms with mean temperature 22.5±0.6 °c (n=48), had a lower incidence (34.9% vs 68.8%, p<0.01) of admission rectal temperature <36 °c and higher admission rectal temperatures (36.0±0.9 °c vs 35.5±0.8 °c, p<0.01). this difference persisted after adjustment for birth weight and 5 min apgar score.conclusion:increasing delivery room temperatures to that recommended by the world health organization decreases cold stress in premature newborns.