Still, no link was discovered.
The price you pay
Our findings are based on real-life observa-
tions in a busy surgery center. They aren't
published in a peer-reviewed journal, so draw-
ing definitive conclusions is a challenge. But
they provided some interesting insights and a
jumping-off point for additional research that
could help identify how to best prevent
hypothermia and, if there's no significant dif-
ference between active warming methods and
warmed cotton blankets, a more economical
choice.
The surgery center ultimately decided to
maintain its current policy of leaving patient
warming to the discretion of individual anes-
thesia providers, perhaps because we use
forced-air warming so seldom that we would-
n't save significantly if we eliminated it. As a
general rule, patients undergoing minor pro-
cedures lasting 15 to 30 minutes receive
warmed cotton blankets. Only patients sched-
uled to undergo procedures expected to last
longer than an hour receive forced-air warm-
ing gowns. We also keep IV fluid in warming
units until it's administered.
We need to extend the research we conduct-
ed in the surgery center to the hospital's main
ORs to see if the results are consistent and to
