Testing Proposed National Guidelines for Perioperative Normothermia
Abstract
Unintentional perioperative hypothermia is an unwanted but common occurrence during anesthesia. A national multidisciplinary panel developed National Perioperative Thermoregulation Guidelines (NPTG) directed at maintaining patient normothermia perioperatively by identifying pre-operative risk factors, and instituting active warming measures early. The purpose of the study was to pilot test the proposed guidelines to identify barriers to implementation, and suggestions for improvement. Data were collected by perioperative health care providers in the ambulatory surgery unit(ASU), operating rooms (OR), and post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) for all scheduled surgeries over a period of two weeks. The sample consisted of 98% (n=115) of patients undergoing surgery. The ASU reported on 55 patients(48%), the OR 92 patients(80%), and the PACU 90 patients (78%). Twenty-four percent(n=13) of preoperative patients were found to be hypothermic in the ASU before surgery. Seventy-one percent of patients did not have a temperature recorded postoperatively in the ASU prior discharge, and of those recorded 29%(n=16), one-half were discharged from ASU hypothermic. Thirty-three percent(n=30) of patients arrived in the PACU hypothermic from the OR, and 50%(n=15) of these patients were discharged from the PACU hypothermic. ASU, OR, and PACU staff reported that the NPTG were not difficult to follow, yet apparently NPTG were not implemented or followed. No barriers to implementation were identified by ASU or PACU staff. OR staff identified four barriers to implementation, and one suggestion for improvement to NPTG.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 06, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA384945
Entities
People
- Casassola Flavia
Organizations
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences