by following the man-
ufacturers' IFUs on
everything from clean-
ing the non-disposable
surface with specified
disinfectants to always
using the disposable
coverlets that come
with forced-air warm-
ing devices as single-
use items.
"Forced-air warming
devices need to be
cleaned, maintained and eventually replaced according to the manu-
facturers' written instructions," says Dr. Steelman. "That means you
need to have bio-engineering checks done on a regular basis."
Another practice should be adhered to religiously by staff:
Cleaning the warming device's corrugated tubing. "It needs to be
cleaned between each and every case," says Dr. Steelman.
Also be sure to regularly change filters on forced-air warming
devices. "The filters typically have some type of integrated hour
counter, so you know exactly when filters are supposed to be
changed," says Dr. Austin.
• Skin tears. You wouldn't expect skin issues to be a safety hazard
associated with patient warming, but the Pennsylvania Patient
Safety Authority report contained some concerning examples of
tears caused by adhesive strips on the blanket and blisters that
resulted from allergies to adhesives. These issues can be easily
avoided with a few extra precautions. For example, be extra cau-
tious when removing adhesives from certain patients, especially
O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 5 5
• FLUID SITUATION Always store IV solutions in designated warming cabinets —
not in units designed to warm cotton blankets.
