kill bacteria much more
effectively when higher
concentrations of oxy-
gen are present within
the white cells. Studies
have also correlated low
amounts of oxygen in
tissue next to incisions
with increased risk of
surgical site infection. In
other words, incisions
with higher oxygen con-
centrations have better
resistance to harmful
bacteria.
Patient warming
comes into play because the higher the body's core temperature, the
higher the level of oxygen concentration in the surgical wound and
surrounding tissues. Why? Vasoconstriction occurs in hypothermic
patients to limit the amount of blood and oxygen that reaches the inci-
sion.
The link between normothermia and lower surgical infection risk has
not been definitively proven, but there's plenty of evidence that sug-
gests actively warmed patients are less likely to develop post-op infec-
tions. For example, research has shown that employing total body
warming to maintain normothermia (36°C) in patients who underwent
colorectal surgery reduced SSI risk by 67% compared with patients
whose core body temperatures dipped into the hypothermic range
(osmag.net/b5pfgd).
2 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 y 2 0 1 8
• WARMING TREND Prospective studies have shown that active warming is
associated with the lowering of surgical site infection rates.
