5 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9
A
ctive patient warm-
ing prevents
hypothermia and
many related com-
plications such as
cardiac trouble, impaired
immune function, increased risk
of infection and lengthier post-
op stays. But you have to worry
about an entirely new set of
safety issues when staff don't
follow proper warming proto-
cols. Unfortunately, that occurs
far more often than it should.
"Warming devices aren't benign
pieces of equipment designed
solely for patient comfort," says
Michelle Feil, MSN, RN, CPPS,
WCC, clinical practice leader at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, Pa.
"These are therapeutic medical devices that carry a real risk for
patient harm."
Ms. Feil would know. She authored a Pennsylvania Patient Safety
Authority report that analyzed 278 harmful or potentially harmful
events associated with patient warming devices
(osmag.net/7yCKNk). Here are a few of the real-world warming
mishaps she discovered.
Jared Bilski | Senior Associate Editor
Patient Warming Pitfalls to Avoid
One of surgery's most basic patient
safety practices is riskier than you might think.
• BAD IDEA Disconnecting the hose on forced-air warming units
and using it to directly warm the patient or the bed can lead to
serious burns and contaminate the sterile field.
