M A R C H 2 0 2 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 8 9
I
was recruited to
work at NewYork-
Presbyterian
Queens Hospital
and assigned the
task of reducing the rate of
surgical site infections
among colorectal surgery
patients. I immediately
noticed all patients weren't
being warmed preoperative-
ly and asked OR leadership,
"That's interesting, you
don't prewarm patients here?" I was told, "No, they're warm." But were they? Consider
these eye-opening statistics:
• Research shows 70% of surgical patients develop inadvertent perioperative
hypothermia (IPH).
• Patients who lose just one degree or more of body heat are at increased risk for a
morbid event.
• SSIs are responsible for 40% of infections in the surgical population, and IPH is
associated with an increased incidence of post-op infection.
The OR leadership's response spoke volumes, not only about how things were done
at our facility back then, but also about the attitude far too many surgical staff have
regarding patient warming. When it comes to maintaining normothermia, there's sim-
ply no excuse for not actively prewarming your patients.
Anita Volpe, DNP, APRN | Flushing, N.Y.
Standardize Your Patient Warming Protocols
Preventing inadvertent perioperative
hypothermia demands placing a premium on active prewarming.
• REAL TIME Prewarming should be done for procedures lasting as little as 15 min-
utes because, ultimately, the patient will be in the OR for more than 30 minutes.