Methods of patient warming during abdominal surgery.
BACKGROUND
Keeping abdominal surgery patients warm is common and warming methods are needed in power outages during natural disasters. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of low-cost, low-power warming methods for maintaining normothermia in abdominal surgery patients.


METHODS
Patients (n = 160) scheduled for elective abdominal surgery were included in this prospective clinical study. Five warming methods were applied: heated blood transfusion/fluid infusion vs. unheated; wrapping patients vs. not wrapping; applying moist dressings, heated or not; surgical field rinse heated or not; and applying heating blankets or not. Patients' nasopharyngeal and rectal temperatures were recorded to evaluate warming efficacy. Significant differences were found in mean temperatures of warmed patients compared to those not warmed.


RESULTS
When we compared temperatures of abdominal surgery patient groups receiving three specific warming methods with temperatures of control groups not receiving these methods, significant differences were revealed in temperatures maintained during the surgeries between the warmed groups and controls.


CONCLUSIONS
The value of maintaining normothermia in patients undergoing abdominal surgery under general anesthesia is accepted. Three effective economical and practically applicable warming methods are combined body wrapping and heating blanket; combined body wrapping, heated moist dressings, and heating blanket; combined body wrapping, heated moist dressings, and warmed surgical rinse fluid, with or without heating blanket. These methods are practically applicable when low-cost method is indeed needed.
Department of Operation Room, The First Teaching Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.
Li
L
Shao
Hong
H
Zheng
Feng-Ju
FJ
Jia
Hui-Qin
HQ
Wang
Li
L
Liu
Qi
Q
Sun
Meng-Ying
MY
An
Xiu-Hua
XH
Zhang
Hao
H
Wen
D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery*; D001512:Bedding and Linens; D001831:Body Temperature; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012768:Shivering