Heat retention head wrap for rewarming infants undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery

A major postoperative problem for infants undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery is hypothermia.

To determine the safety and feasibility of a newly designed Heat Retention Head Wrap on infants during the rewarming period of cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

A sample of 10 infants was recruited into this descriptive pilot study. The health care providers completed ease-of-use questionnaires to describe the feasibility of the head wrap. Interval body temperatures were recorded to characterize temperature progression from onset of rewarming to arrival in the cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) and were compared with the temperature progression of a similar group of nonparticipants. Adverse events were recorded on the basis of perioperative body temperatures and skin assessments.

The head wrap was easily applied to the infant's head and was removed without difficulty. A steady increase in median body temperature from (1) the onset of rewarming (28°C), to (2) removal of bypass cannulas (28.9°C), to (3) removal of the rectal temperature probe before transfer from the operating room to the cardiac ICU (34.5°C), and (4) upon arrival in the cardiac ICU (36.0°C) was observed. No skin lesions or temperature-related adverse events were observed.

The newly designed Heat Retention Head Wrap was associated with a gradual normalization of temperature during rewarming and did not interfere with routine perioperative care of infants undergoing bypass surgery. This pilot study indicates that the head wrap is both safe and feasible for use in infants undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.