Maintaining normothermia before, during and after surgery is associated with lower SSI rates and faster recovery times. The NICE guidelines are clear that all elective surgery patients should be pre-warmed to prevent the likelihood of post-operative complications. However, the complexity of using current warming solutions, like forced air warming, for this use case means that the NICE guidance isn’t the reality in many NHS Trusts.
What’s the challenge with current solutions?
Whilst forced air and conductive warming products are popular solutions, they both have drawbacks:
- Impractical for use on every patient: Time constraints and lack of access to equipment and/or training mean pre-warming and post-warming are often neglected or implemented inconsistently.
- Cost and energy consumption: Both FAW and conductive solutions require additional equipment and external energy sources to work, increasing costs and energy usage, compromising ward space and making transit between the ward and anaesthetics room, whilst using these solutions, impractical. Body heat is often lost during this transition, causing significant delays to surgeries as patients must be returned to normothermia prior to anaesthesia.