5 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A R C H 2 0 1 7
Whether you choose to warm
patients pre-operatively,
intra-operatively or in PACU
— or all of the above —
chances are the forced-air
warming blanket is your pre-
ferred means of keeping
patients normothermic. It's
the method of choice at
Logan (Utah) Regional
Hospital, too, but the hospital
is open to the idea of change.
Kimberly Klinkowski, RN,
MSN, CNOR, the hospital's
director of surgical services,
says they might consider
alternatives in light of ongo-
ing though unproven allega-
tions that forced air can con-
tribute to surgical site infec-
tions, particularly in orthopedic cases.
"Some of the orthopedic surgeons keep bringing it up," she
says. "Our infection rate is below 1%, so we haven't had problems
with infections. If we did, we'd definitely have a reason to jump off
the curb. I haven't been pushed yet, but I'm being pushed in that
direction."
Susan Alexander, RN, MSN, CPAN, recently put forced air
WARMING TRENDS
Shaking Up How Patients Warm Up
• PRE-GAMING Pre-operative warming can result in increased
patient comfort, quicker recovery times and a reduced risk of
infection.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
