A comparison of patient rewarming devices after cardiac surgery

Three regimens for rewarming patients after cardiac surgery involving hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass were studied in 30 patients. The control group (n = 10) received no active rewarming, the oesophageal group (n = 10) was warmed centrally using an oesophageal heat exchanger and the radiant group (n = 10) was warmed peripherally with an overhead radiant heater. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups apart from the higher mean skin temperatures in the peripheral group.