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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
low-flow anesthesia intraoperatively.
• Reasons: Three procedural factors require more intensive warming
efforts: general anesthesia (plus a nerve block), the expected procedure time of 1 hour and the loss of body fluids with arthroscopy. Plus,
the pre-diabetes diagnosis means she could have compromised vasculature, which would make it harder for her to rebound to a normal
body temperature post-op. Although patients with higher BMIs (and,
therefore, lower body surface areas to body mass ratios) tend to
remain warmer in their peripheral tissues, they're at heightened
hypothermic risk due to the higher amount of body fat and consistent
state of vasodilatation. OSM
Ms. Ford (ford.donna@mayo.edu) is a nursing education specialist in the surgical services division at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | N O V E M B E R 2012
