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S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT 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 | M AY 2 0 1 4
going surgical proce-
dures will experience
perioperative hypother-
mia, says Dr. Steelman,
who stresses the impor-
tance of warming
throughout the periop-
erative process, not just
before, during or after
the case. While pre-
operative warming can
maintain temperatures above 96.8°F throughout all perioperative phases, pre-op
warming reduces but doesn't eliminate post-induction hypothermia, says Dr.
Steelman.
Her message: Don't wait until the patient is wheeled into the OR to begin
active warming measures. Applying warmed blankets or a forced-air warmer,
for example, pre-operatively as well as intraoperatively will decrease the inci-
dence of hypothermia compared to intraoperative warming alone, she says. Pre-
op warming is an evidence-based intervention "inadequately infused into clinical
practice," says Dr. Steelman.
Which active warming method?
Which warming interventions — or combinations thereof — are most effective?
That's a question Vallire Hooper, PhD, RN, CPAN, FAAN, manager of nursing
research at Mission Health System in Asheville, N.C., would love to answer.
"We've done a good job of establishing that certain [warming] products work
well," she says, "but the next question is which products work well in certain
patient populations. I'm not sure we're there yet."
While forced-air systems are the benchmarks that all other warming modali-
ties are rightly or wrongly compared to, Dr. Hooper says the warming method
P A T I E N T W A R M I N G
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
CHILL SPELLS ILL In addition to infection, hypothermia can
contribute to increased blood loss and extended length of stay.
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