Radiological procedure induced heat loss in neonatal patients' transfer to the radiology department: implications for hypothermia

Purpose : The objectives of this survey were to determine temperature differences within the neonatal unit thermal environment and the radiographic room thermal environment; to measure how much time in minutes the infant spends outside the neonatal unit thermal environment during a radiographic examination carried out in the radiology department and to measure the amount of heat lost by the infant in the process. Methods : A cross sectional survey was conducted over a period of two months. Twenty two neonates, aged between one and 30 days, were included in the study. The neonate's body temperature before and after the radiological procedure, the total time the neonate spent outside the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and the temperature difference between the NICU and the radiological procedure room were measured for each neonate. Results : The mean time spent outside the neonatal unit was 27.82 minutes (standard deviation −1.68). The temperature difference ranged from −4°C to 3.5°C, with a mean temperature difference of −1.7°C. For 50% of the infants there was a temperature difference of 2 or more degrees. Eighteen percent of the neonates developed hypothermia during the course of the radiological procedure. The WHO classification of hypothermia, which defines a core body temperature between 36°C and 36.4°C as mild hypothermia, 32 to 35.9°C as moderate hypothermia and below 32°C as severe hypothermia, was adopted for this study. Conclusion : The study concludes that in settings where the NICU is not equipped for radiological procedures, where there is no functional mobile radiology equipment and where the neonate must be transported to the radiology department for radiographic procedures, greater care should be taken to minimise heat loss from the neonate. Greater coordination between the departments and warm linen for swaddling the neonates is recommended.