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P A T I E N T
W A R M I N G
dures are 50 minutes or less — keep in mind that you don't have
much time to warm patients in the OR, so pre-warming could prevent
patients from arriving in PACU hypothermic.
"We warm all our patients," says Yanara Reda, BSN, RN, of Rockland
and Bergen Surgery Center in Montvale, N.J. "If a patient is having a surgical procedure, it doesn't matter the type of anesthesia used. We have an
obligation to have their best interests in mind."
Pre-warming methods cited in our survey include underbody conductive blankets and mattresses, warmed blankets, forced-air warming units, and heat-reflective blankets, gowns and caps. Often-times,
survey respondents say they continue with these warming methods
from the holding area, throughout surgery and into post-op.
How do you warm?
As you can see in the table on the left, warmed blankets and forcedair warmers are far and away the most popular methods of warming,
based on our survey. It's not uncommon for facilities to use more than
1 warming modality. A common combo: a blanket warmer that cuts
down on heat loss and a forced-air system that warms the patient's
skin. "Research shows that using a blanket with a tightly woven sheet
in pre-op helps keep patients warm without overheating with the
forced air," says a hospital clinical nurse specialist. "We use the forced
air on all patients in the OR, which follows them to PACU."
Mary Haskins, RN, CNOR, OR director and clinical supervisor of the
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