Abstract
BackgroundUnderbody blankets have recently been launched and are used by anesthesiologists for surgical patients. However, the forced-air warming effect of underbody blankets is still controversial. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of forced-air warming by an underbody blanket on body temperature in anesthetized patients.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed 5063 surgical patients. We used propensity score matching to reduce the bias caused by a lack of randomization. After propensity score matching, the change in body temperature from before to after surgery was compared between patients who used underbody blankets (Under group) and those who used other types of warming blankets (Control group). The incidence of hypothermia (i.e., body temperature < 36.0 °C at the end of surgery) was compared between the two groups. A p value < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance.ResultsWe obtained 489 propensity score-matched pairs of patients from the two groups, of whom 33 and 63 had hypothermia in the Under and Control groups, respectively (odds ratio: 0.49, 95% confidence interval: 0.31–0.76, p = 0.0013).ConclusionsThe present study suggests that the underbody blanket may help reduce the incidence of intraoperative hypothermia and may be more efficient in warming anesthetized patients compared with other types of warming blankets.Trial registrationUMIN Clinical Trials Registry (Identifier: UMIN000022909; retrospectively registered on June 27, 2016).
Highlights
Underbody blankets have recently been launched and are used by anesthesiologists for surgical patients
There was a significant difference in body temperature at the end of surgery between the Under and Control groups (p < 0.0001, Fig. 2)
The incidence of hypothermia was significantly lower in the Under group than in the Control group at the end of surgery, as suggested by a significantly higher body temperature at the end of surgery in the Under group compared with the Control group
Summary
Underbody blankets have recently been launched and are used by anesthesiologists for surgical patients. The forced-air warming effect of underbody blankets is still controversial. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of forced-air warming by an underbody blanket on body temperature in anesthetized patients. Forced-air warming plays a critical role in warming patients during surgery [1,2,3]. Efficient perioperative forced-air warming is achieved by convection of warmed air flow [12] This effect depends on the difference between skin and ambient temperatures and the area of air flow at the skin surface [12, 13]. Upper or lower body blankets are typically used despite being approximately half as effective [14]
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