Sammanfattning
Background: Surgical patients are exposed to heat loss. It is important to prevent accidental hypothermia in surgical patients in order to avoid unnecessary complications such as increased oxygen demand, higher infection risk and cardiovascular problems.
Objective: To generate new knowledge about the effect of using forced-air warming blankets as a means of preventing accidental hypothermia in elective surgery patients under general anaesthesia.
Method: We conducted an updated systematic literature search in the databases CINAHL (EBSCO), Embase (Ovid), Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials (Wiley), MEDLINE (Ovid) and ScienceDirect for material published between January 2011 and February 2016 in order to complement existing systematic reviews. Randomised controlled studies published in English and Scandinavian languages were included. We made a critical assessment of the studies with regard to the risk of systematic bias and presented aggregate findings in a narrative analysis.
Results: We identified 624 references and included a total of 10 articles in the analysis. Eight of the ten studies show a positive effect from preoperative warming with a forced-air warming blanket. The majority of these studies show statistically significant results and have a low bias risk.
Conclusion: The results indicate that preoperative warming with a forced-air warming blanket has a significant effect on preventing accidental hypothermia in adult elective surgery patients under general anaesthesia. Continuing to warm patients perioperatively can also be beneficial.