The problem of maintaining proper temperature for inpatients has been a concern in the operating room (OR) setting for quite a while due to several challenges. Specifically, due to the impact of anesthesia, patients are unable to maintain their temperature and adjust to the changes in the environment. Therefore, once brought into the setting of an OR, which is typically kept cold, they face the threat of hypothermia, which, in turn, may lead to multiple nosocomial complications, including pneumonia (Becerra et al., 2019). Therefore, introducing tools for managing temperature in the OR so that the patient could retain the standard body temperature of 98.6°F (Becerra et al., 2019). In turn, the use of prewarming procedures as the method of ensuring that patients’ temperature remains at the required level of 98.6°F is a viable option that needs to be considered. Specifically, by applying prewarming techniques on patients, one is likely to ensure that their temperature remains at the required rate for a certain amount of time.
However, the range of tools that can be used in the setting of an OR range substantially, which means that the choice of a prewarming technique must be made beforehand. Studies show that the use of a forced-air prewarming strategy is likely to leave the best impact on the body temperature of a patient due to the opportunity to maintain the temperature consistent and keep every part of the patient’s body heated (Alfonsi et al., 2019). The importance of forced-air prewarming has been particularly high for the post-surgical recovery as well, which is essential since the extent of patient monitoring post-surgery is lower than that one in the OR environment (Alfonsi et al., 2019). Therefore, the application of the forced-air prewarming techniques appears to be the best solution currently.
References
Alfonsi, P., Bekka, S., Aegerter, P., & SFAR Research Network Investigators. (2019). Prevalence of hypothermia on admission to recovery room remains high despite a large use of forced-air warming devices: Findings of a non-randomized observational multicenter and pragmatic study on perioperative hypothermia prevalence in France. PloS One, 14(12).
Becerra, Á., Valencia, L., Ferrando, C., Villar, J., & Rodríguez-Pérez, A. (2019). Prospective observational study of the effectiveness of prewarming on perioperative hypothermia in surgical patients submitted to spinal anesthesia. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1-7.