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THINKING OF BUYING …
monitored anesthesia care. During the course of their procedures,
patients were administered up to 700mL of IV fluid, including an ini-
tial bolus injection of 10mL/kg. The fluid given to 27 of the patients
had been pre-warmed to 41°C in a cabinet. The other 26 received
room-temperature fluid.
The researchers perioperatively recorded each patient's core temper-
ature, as well as incidents of post-operative shivering, the use of
forced-air warming devices in PACU and patients' reports of thermal
comfort. They found that on average, the core temperatures of the pre-
warmed fluid group were significantly higher as the surgery began, at
the end of the case and when they were admitted to PACU. That group
also showed a lower incidence of hypothermia upon PACU admission
and shivered less after their surgeries. The study appeared in the April
issue of the Japanese Journal of Anesthesiology (
tinyurl.com/m2sk5ky
).
Stainless steel warming cabinets aren't the only option available for
taking the chill off IV and irrigation fluids, though. On the following
pages, we've highlighted devices ranging from bag-warming units that,
stationed in the OR, provide a convenient warming solution that is
immediately accessible to the surgical team, to in-line warming technolo-
gies that attach directly to fluid delivery tubing, an automatic approach
when large volumes of fluid are necessary.
In each instance, a warming system's chief advantages include the
ability to precisely control and accurately verify the fluid's tempera-
ture and to ensure consistency from case to case. If the system is
installed close to the point of care, it can keep fluids from cooling
down before they get there. The end result is maintaining periopera-
tive patient normothermia from the inside out.
We profile 9 fluiding warming systems beginning on page 82. OSM
E-mail
db erna rd@outpa tientsurg ery.net
.
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