Efficacy of Prewarming With a Self-Warming Blanket for the Prevention of Unintended Perioperative Hypothermia in Patients Undergoing Hip or Knee Arthroplasty

Purpose: Unintended perioperative hypothermia (UPH) is a common and serious complication for patients undergoing anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to identify the incidence of UPH and evaluate the efficacy of a self-warming blanket on the drop in core temperature and risk of UPH in patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty.

Design: A case-control study was used.

Methods: Sixty patients were included. Thirty patients received prewarming with a self-warming blanket and forced-air warming intraoperatively; thirty patients received only forced-air warming intraoperatively.

Finding: The incidence of UPH (<36 degrees C) was identified in 13% of the patients in the prewarmed group and 43% of the patients in the control group. Mean core temperature in the prewarmed group was significantly higher and remained above 36 degrees C in the perioperative period.

Conclusions: The study suggests that preoperative warming with a selfwarming blanket reduces the incidence of UPH and decreases the drop in core temperature.