The comparison of two recovery room warming methods for hypothermia patients who had undergone spinal surgery

The purpose of this study was to compare the time needed to reach a specified temperature and the efficiency of two warming methods-warm cotton blankets and a radiant warmer-for hypothermia patients in a postanesthetic care unit (PACU) after spinal surgery.

This study was conducted according to a quasi-experimental design. Data were collected from a medical referral center in northern Taiwan. A total of 130 post-spinal surgery patients with hypothermia were recruited in the study.

Of the 130 patients in the PACU, 65 were warmed by the radiant warmer (group R); whereas the other 65 patients were warmed by warm cotton blankets (group B). Tympanic temperature was measured for each patient every 10 min until it reached 36 °C in the PACU. Analysis of covariance and generalized estimating equation regression analysis were performed to compare the time needed to reach a specified temperature and the efficiency of the two warming methods, respectively.

Both groups were similar in their baseline characteristics. After adjusting for temperature upon arrival at the PACU, group R needed a significantly shorter time for rewarming to 36 °C than group B (F [1, 125]= 58.17, p < .001). The results of the generalized estimating equation also showed that the radiant warmer was more efficient than warm cotton blankets in increasing patients' body temperatures to 36 °C (χ2 = 37.44, p < .001). None of the patients appeared to have wound infections, and there were no differences in the length of hospital stay or medical costs for current hospitalization in both groups.

Using the radiant warmer may be a more efficient method than providing warm cotton blankets for warming post-spinal surgery hypothermia patients in the PACU.

For hospitals that are unable to use forced-air warming to warm postsurgical hypothermia patients in the PACU, the radiant warmer is a more efficient device to rewarm patients.