Passive Warming using a Heat-Band versus a Resistive Heating Blanket for the Prevention of Inadvertent Perioperative Hypothermia during Laparotomy for Gynaecological Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Inadvertent perioperative hypothermia (IPH) is a common problem, despite advancements in a variety of warming systems. The use of a resistive heating blanket (RHB) is a common but costly approach to patient warming. We have introduced the use of a heat-band in our centre as a cost-effective alternative to the RHB for patient warming. The efficacy of the heat-band in preventing IPH during laparotomy for gynaecological surgeries was compared with that of the RHB.

METHODS: Thirty-two patients undergoing surgeries under combined general-epidural anaesthesia, with an expected duration of surgery of 2-4 h, were randomised to receive either the heat-band or RHB. The core body temperatures of the two groups were compared at several perioperative times, in addition to the incidence of post-anaesthesia shivering, time to extubation and intraoperative blood loss.

RESULTS: The core body temperatures were comparable between the two groups in the pre-operative period, immediately after the induction of anaesthesia and skin incision, 1 h after the incision, at the time of complete skin closing, at extubation, upon arrival to the recovery room and 1 h post-operatively. There were no significant between-group differences in the incidence of post-anaesthesia shivering, time to extubation and intra-operative blood loss.

CONCLUSION: The heat-band is as effective as the RHB in preventing IPH and its complications in gynaecological laparotomies.