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P R E V E N T I N G
H Y P O T H E R M I A
tions who is otherwise healthy. She will undergo bilateral myringotomy under general anesthesia. Her mom's done a good job of keeping
her calm, bringing along a favorite stuffed lion, but it's a chilly lateautumn day, and her temperature is 35.8°C in pre-op, despite a warm
coat.
• Warming methods: Use a warm cloth blanket, thermal bouffant hat
and socks beginning upon admission, all to be used from pre-op
through to post-op. Consider forced-air warming throughout and monitor temperature more often than with an adult.
• Reasons: Although procedure time is less than 10 minutes, babies
and children get colder faster because of their higher body surface
area to body mass ratios. Because breathing them down and waking
them up will also add to the OR time, it could be nearly a half-hour
before she's out to PACU, and babies are prone to more rapid changes
in body temperature. At a temp of 35.8°C, she already meets the criteria for hypothermia in pre-op, so she should have active warming
throughout the procedure.
Patient 6: A 50-year-old woman with a BMI of 29 and pre-diabetes
diagnosed by her primary care physician. She will undergo right-knee
arthroscopy
• Warming methods: Again, a warmed blanket in pre-op plus cap and
socks throughout are indicated. Employ upper-body forced air warming and warmed irrigation fluids, along with warmed and humidified
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