risk for hypother-
mia. Despite the fact
that locally injected
anesthetics have no
direct action on the
hypothalamus, the
thermoregulatory
center still appears
to become impaired.
Through still
unknown mechanisms, the thermoregulatory center incorrectly sens-
es skin temperature in anesthetized regions to be abnormally elevat-
ed. This misinterpretation of skin temperature in the blocked region
fools the regulatory system into tolerating lower core temperatures.
The net result is that the threshold necessary to trigger a response
decreases 3 to 4 times (from 36.8°C to between 36.4 and 36.2°C) and
the patient is still at risk for developing mild hypothermia. Any IV
sedation added to local procedures raises the risk of hypothermia fur-
ther.
5. Patients at increased risk for developing hypothermia include all of the follow-
ing except __________ .
a. pediatric patients
b. geriatric patients
c. obese patients
d. cachectic patients
c. Numerous factors can contribute to increased risk of developing
perioperative hypothermia. Patient factors include extremes of age,
6 0
O U T P A T 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 | J U N E 2 0 1 5
z PREWARM RITUAL Forced hot air warming devices are most effective
at preventing hypothermia when applied in the pre-operative period.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
