Comparison of the EasyWarm® self-heating blanket with the Cocoon forced-air warming blanket in preventing...

The importance of preventing hypothermia in the perioperative period cannot be overemphasised. The use of active warming devices is advocated and practised widely. The forced-air warming (FAW) blanket is currently a popular modality. The BARRIER® EasyWarm® (Mölnlycke Healthcare, Belrose, Australia) self-heating blanket, which does not require a power unit, has been proposed as an easy-to-use alternative to the FAW blanket. We conducted a single-centre, randomized controlled trial to compare the efficacy of the EasyWarm® self-heating blanket to the Cocoon blanket (Care Essentials, North Geelong, Australia), a conventional FAW blanket, in preventing intraoperative hypothermia. Forty patients undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia lasting >1 h were randomized in a 1:1 ratio. Prewarming was not allowed; 39 patients were analysed (19 EasyWarm® group and 20 Cocoon blanket group). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups with regard to the mean (±standard deviation) final nasopharyngeal temperature (35.89 ± 0.82 °C versus 35.74 ± 0.77 °C; P = 0.72 in the Cocoon and EasyWarm® blanket groups, respectively). Similarly, the difference between average temperatures at 1, 2 and 3 h was not statistically significant. We found the EasyWarm® blanket to be as effective as the Cocoon FAW blanket in preventing intraoperative hypothermia. Due to its ease of use, the EasyWarm® blanket may have an additional benefit in preoperative warming of patients.