["Pre-warming" - how can perioperative hypothermia be avoided?]

Perioperative hypothermia is a well known problem in general and neuroaxial anaesthesia. Some years ago effective therapeutic means as e. g. forced air systems and infusion heaters were introduced into clinical routine. If these systems are used intraoperatively only, hypothermia is solely treated symptomatically. Pathophysiologic cause of perioperative hypothermia mainly is an initial drop of core-temperature due to redistribution of heat-energy. On this basis Camus and Sessler introduced pre-warming. Patients are warmed with forced-air systems prior to induction of anaesthesia. Thus the drop in core-temperature caused by redistribution is minimized. Pre-warming is a simple, effective and cheap way to reduce perioperative hypothermia. This article gives a short overview on pathophysiology of perioperative hypothermia. Published clinical experiences are discussed and practical guidelines for everyday-use given.