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Thermal Regulation of Patients During the Perioperative Period
Author(s) -
Dennison Donna
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
aorn journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1878-0369
pISSN - 0001-2092
DOI - 10.1016/s0001-2092(06)63715-0
Subject(s) - perioperative , period (music) , medicine , anesthesia , philosophy , aesthetics
Surgery patients often become hypothermic during surgical procedures. The body's thermostat, the hypothalamus, strives to maintain a normal temperature; however, when a patient's temperature drops too low, the thermoregulatory processes are suppressed, and hypothermia occurs. Cardiopulmonary bypass procedures use induced hypothermia; however, inadvertent hypothermia may occur in many other surgical procedures during which the body temperature is not systematically monitored and regulated. Hypothermia may cause complications such as protein catabolism, hypokalemia, and changes in glucose metabolism and glomerular filtration. Nursing interventions used intraoperatively to maintain a normothermic state include applying warm and temperature regulating blankets, decreasing the amount of skin exposure, and warming operating rooms. AORN J 61 (May 1995) 827–832.