the OR nurses would pile on the blankets," says Ms. Skibiski. "The cir-
culators know I like the heater system versus piling on the blankets …
but one of the biggest reasons is that patients like being able to adjust
their own thermostat."
Conducting an alternative
Ohio Valley Surgical Hospital in Springfield, Ohio, employs both
forced-air and conductive lightweight fabric warmed by low-voltage
electricity to keep patients normothermic. Jeannette Cline, BSN, RN,
the center's OR manager, says they use the conductive-fabric warmers
— similar to an electric blanket — "more frequently" than the forced-
air counterparts, especially when doing total joints.
Likewise, James K. Dello Russo, MD, an anesthesiologist with a
HealthCare Partners
surgery center in Long
Beach, Calif., often
uses a conductive-fab-
ric warmer. He consid-
ers it highly flexible, he
says, especially "when
turning the patient
from supine to prone
and back again."
Depending on the
patient, he says, other
safeguards to retain
heat in patients include
warming IV fluids and
humidifying airway
J a n u a r y 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 3 5
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