Perioperative Warming in Surgical Patients: A Comparison of Interventions

The four arm study investigates how use of a preoperative forced-air warming blanket and adjustment of ambient surgical room temperature may contribute to prevention of perioperative hypothermia. Active warming interventions may prevent the drop in core temperature that occur as a result of surgical anesthesia. Core body temperatures from a convenience sample of 220 adult surgical patients were sequentially monitored in the preoperative, intraoperative, and post-anesthesia care units (PACU) while receiving: (a) routine surgical care, (b) application of preoperative forced-air warming blanket, (c) application of preoperative forced-air warming blanket with adjustment of ambient surgical room temperatures, or (d) adjustment of ambient surgical room temperature only. Sample characteristics were evenly distributed among the four groups. There were no statistical differences in PACU core body temperatures. The application of forced-air warming blankets and room temperature adjustment interventions were not more effective than current practice in preventing perioperative hypothermia.