GE Healthcare enFlow IV Fluid and Blood Warmer - Booklet - Manual (Page 2)

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A Case for Maintaining Normothermia
Keeping surgical patients at a normal body temperature is a daily struggle for medical personnel
looking after patients with impaired thermoregulation. Among the millions of surgeries occurring
annually in the world, it is estimated that 50-90% suffer from hypothermia 1 . Hypothermia is defined
as a core temperature below 36˚ Celsius. 2 Small reduction in core temperature can have a significant
negative impact on postoperative outcomes, affecting patient satisfaction and recovery. 3 This, in
combination with the extra financial burden is the reason more and more hospitals are taking actions
to address the impact of accidental hypothermia in the clinical and pre-hospital environment.
One of the contributing factors to the issue is the delivery of cold fluids. One study concluded that each
liter of intravenous fluid infused into adult patients at ambient temperature, decreases the mean body
temperature by approximately 0.25 °C. 4 A further study in 2010 also concluded that infusion of warm
fluid is effective in keeping patients nearly normothermic and preventing postanesthetic shivering. 5