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(96.8"F)
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Patient exhibits shivering
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Patient complains of being uncomfortably cold
Also, to prevent hypothermia, the Bair Hugger Total Temperature Management system should be
used whenever conditions exist that could cause patients to become cold.
Precautionary Information
Contraindications
Do not apply heat to lower extremities during aortic cross-clamping. Thermal injury may occur if
heat is applied to ischemic limbs.
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Do not use Bair Hugger" warming units with any forced-air blanket or cover other than Bair
Hugger blankets. Thermal injury may result.
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Do not warm patients with the warming unit hose alone. Thermal injury may result. Always attach
the hose to a Bair Hugger blanket before providing skin surface warming therapy.
Hugger@ Total Temperature Management@ system include:
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Body temperature drops below 36°C
Warming Therapy
Examples of indications for the Bair
Bair Hugger@
(96.8"F). Sixty to eighty
percent of all patients undergoing operative procedures become hypothermic.
Contributing Factors
Factors contributing to hypothermia include:
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Cold operating room environment
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Anesthetic drug effect
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Administration of cold intravenous fluids
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The opening of the body cavity
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Cold exposure
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Drowning
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Spinal trauma
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Geriatric thermoregulatory processes
Adverse Consequences
Adverse consequences of hypothermia include:
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Coagulopathy
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Hemodynamic instability
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Immunodepression
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Shivering and patient discomfort
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Altered drug effect
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Postoperative nitrogen wasting
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Cardiac dysfunction
Indications for
Hypothermia: A Common Problem in Patient Care
Description
Hypothermia occurs when a patient's body temperature drops below 36°C
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