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O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4
Adequately warmed
patients have "a decreased
incidence of tachycardia and
hypertension in PACU,"
notes Charles DeFrancesco,
MD, staff anesthesiologist at
Delmont Surgery Center in
Greensburg, Pa. "Both are
related to peripheral vaso-
constriction and the body's stressor response to hypothermia."
And speaking of cardiac-related issues, a clinical director we
heard from notes the "reduced incidence of arrhythmias" as anoth-
er benefit. How significant might that be? A recent study
(
tinyurl.com/nuj9rka
) suggests that patients who experience arrhyth-
mias after non-cardiac surgery may face an increased risk of stroke
somewhere down the road.
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It's best to warm patients throughout the
perioperative process. The benefits of warming typi-
cally start in pre-op and continue until the patient is ready to
leave. "We warm patients from pre-op to post-op," says another clini-
cian. "It takes more anesthesia to put cold patients to sleep, plus
warm patients are happy patients."
And post-op? "Warmed patients respond better to pain medication,
and wake up faster," says a director of nursing at another facility, an
observation shared by Stephanie Wright, ADN, BSN, director of sur-
gery for the perioperative area at St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical
Center in Twin Falls, Idaho. "Patients seem to need fewer narcotics,
they wake up faster, and there's less time spent rewarming them in
PACU," says Ms. Wright.
P A T I E N T W A R M I N G
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER It's best to warm
patients throughout the perioperative process.