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trate on deep breathing, relax-
ation and imagery — factors that
can help them better manage
pain.
6. Do warmed patients
recover faster?
Patients who are hypothermic
stay in the PACU longer, which
increases the cost of care. As
mentioned, hypothermic patients
are at greater risk for SSIs, which
could prolong their overall length
of stay in the inpatient setting.
Hypothermia can prolong and
alter drug effects, which could
impact how anesthetics work and how well post-op pain is controlled.
Research (
tinyurl.com/
qheylol
) has shown that a 3°C decrease in core hypothermia prolonged
the effects of propofol, which could also delay discharge.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, discov-
ered that the post-op temperatures of patients who were warmed to
maintain normothermia during elective abdominal surgeries had core
temperatures 2ºC higher than patients who were not warmed
(
tinyurl.com/
og34o7e)
. Importantly, the researchers noted normothermic patients
were cleared for discharge approximately 40 minutes earlier than
hypothermic patients.
P A T I E N T W A R M I N G
NICE TOUCH Warmed blankets are
excellent comfort measures, but can't
reverse hypothermia.
Jason
Meehan
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