OSM560-April_DIGITAL_rev_Layout 1 4/8/13 11:07 AM Page 54
P A T I E N T
W A R M I N G
ONE-TWO PUNCH Many ORs use both forced-air warmers and blanket warmers
to prevent hypothermia. An increasing number of surgical facilties are also applying
warming devices in pre-op, a preventive practice known as pre-warming.
New Thinking on
Patient Warming
Is pre-warming an idea whose time has come?
Dan O'Connor | Editor-in-Chief
M
ost every surgeon, anesthesia provider and surgical nurse has
bought into the idea that normothermic patients do better. It's
no longer a question of whether and why you should warm patients.
The focus has shifted to:
• Should you pre-warm patients? Yes. Pre-warming patients at risk of
hypothermia for at least 15 minutes before induction of anesthesia is
5 4 | O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E | A P R I L 2 013
