Intraoperative temperature regulation in children using a liquid-warming garment.
OBJECTIVE
Children undergoing operative intervention while induced under general anesthesia are at risk for experiencing a significant decrease in core body temperature that can lead to adverse systemic effects. Given that the head contributes an estimated 18% of a child's body surface area, we theorized that a liquid-warming garment applied to the head could control a pediatric patient's core body temperature during surgical procedures.


METHODS
Patients undergoing elective, non-cranial, general surgical procedures were enrolled in the study. A head garment with an embedded network of tubing was placed on the patient. The garment connected to a computer-controlled water bath that managed the temperature of the water in the tubing through a feedback mechanism.


RESULTS
Ten patients with ages ranging from 1 day to 3 years (mean age 10.5 months) were enrolled in this study. The average procedure length was 82.5 min. The mean core body temperature throughout the procedure for all-comers was 36.5 ± 0.9 °C with an overall mean difference in maximum and minimum temperatures of 1.32 ± 1.1 °C.


CONCLUSIONS
A liquid-warming garment applied to the head of pediatric surgical patients is an innovative and relatively low-cost means to regulate and to maintain the ideal core body temperature of patients undergoing surgical procedures.
Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St SE, MMC 195, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA. hache005@umn.edu.
Mariya E
ME
Skube
Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St SE, MMC 195, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
Robert D
RD
Acton
Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
Victor S
VS
Koscheyev
Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Gloria R
GR
Leon
Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St SE, MMC 195, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
Daniel A
DA
Saltzman
D000768:Anesthesia, General; D001831:Body Temperature; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003020:Clothing; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007430:Intraoperative Care / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male
Anesthesia; Conductive heat exchange; Liquid cooling/warming garment; Neonates; Pediatric surgery; Temperature; Thermoregulation