Skytron Blog

As operating room (OR) professionals, you are the driving force behind patient safety and successful surgical outcomes. One of the most important ways to ensure this success is by maintaining normothermia, keeping the patient’s body temperature within the normal range of 36.5–37.5°C (97.7–99.5°F).

Even mild hypothermia can lead to serious complications, making it critical to understand its risks and implement effective strategies to prevent it.

This guide will cover why normothermia matters and highlight how Skytron solutions can help you maintain it in the OR.
 

Four Reasons Why It Matters

 
Maintaining normothermia isn’t just about patient comfort; it directly impacts their safety and recovery.
Here are four reasons why it’s so important:

1. Prevents Surgical Site Infections (SSIs): Hypothermia reduces blood flow and impairs immune function, creating an environment where infections can thrive. A study by Sessler found that hypothermia significantly increases the risk of surgical site infections by compromising the immune system’s ability to fight off bacteria.
2. Reduces Blood Loss: Hypothermia negatively impacts the body’s ability to clot, leading to increased bleeding during surgery. A meta-analysis by Rajagopalan revealed that even mild hypothermia increases blood loss and transfusion requirements in surgical patients.
3. Improves Recovery from Anesthesia: Hypothermia prolongs the effects of anesthesia, delaying recovery and increasing the risk of postoperative complications. Maintaining normothermia helps ensure smoother and faster recovery periods.
4. Enhances Postoperative Outcomes: Normothermic patients experience less discomfort, including postoperative shivering, and enjoy faster recoveries, often resulting in shorter hospital stays.

Three Ways You Can Maintain Normothermia

 
To keep patients safe and warm during surgery, surgical teams can adopt several strategies.
Here are three essential approaches, along with tools from Skytron to help you succeed:

1. Use Forced-Air Warming Devices

   Forced-air warming blankets (Bair Huggers) are among the most effective tools for maintaining body temperature. These devices deliver warm air through blankets placed over or under the patient, countering heat loss caused by anesthesia, cold surgical instruments, and a cool OR environment.

   Research by Hooper supports the use of forced-air warming systems, recommending them as a cornerstone of perioperative normothermia protocols.
    

2. Warm Intravenous Fluids and Irrigation Solutions

   Administering cold fluids can quickly lower a patient’s core temperature. Pre-warmed IV fluids and irrigation solutions are essential for preventing this temperature drop.

   Skytron’s Warming Cabinets offer a reliable solution to this challenge:

   • Precise Temperature Control: Fluids and irrigation solutions are kept at the optimal temperature for patient safety.
   • Convenience: The cabinets’ easy accessibility integrates seamlessly into your workflow.

   By using Skytron Warming Cabinets, you can ensure that every fluid administered during surgery contributes to maintaining the patient’s core temperature, improving outcomes, and reducing the risk of hypothermia.
    

3. Monitor and Manage OR Temperature

   Operating room (OR) temperature management is another key factor. ORs are often kept cooler for staff comfort and to prevent equipment overheating, but these lower temperatures can contribute to patient heat loss. Balancing staff needs with patient safety is essential.

   Our SkyVision Reveal system provides a powerful solution for real-time environmental monitoring:

   • OR Temperature and Humidity Monitoring: Surgical teams can ensure the environment is conducive to maintaining normothermia.
   • Quick Adjustments: Real-time data empowers teams to make immediate changes to the OR environment when necessary.

What This Means for Your OR

 
Maintaining normothermia is a critical component of patient safety during surgery. By preventing hypothermia, you help reduce the risk of surgical site infections, minimize blood loss, improve anesthesia recovery, and enhance overall patient outcomes.

Skytron’s innovative solutions, including Warming Cabinets and SkyVision Reveal, make it easier than ever to maintain normothermia in the OR. These tools integrate seamlessly into your workflow, allowing you to focus on what matters most: delivering safe, efficient, and effective care.

Every patient deserves a safe surgical experience, and maintaining normothermia is key to achieving that goal. Whether prepping warmed fluids with warming cabinets or monitoring OR conditions with software, the right tools can make all the difference.

Visit our website for more information about solutions. Your expertise and commitment to patient care make surgical success possible!

Resources and Citations:
1. The Essential Role of Perioperative Nurses in Preventing Hypothermia: Strategies and Guidelines for Maintaining Normothermia | AORN.org
2. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Recommendations: NICE Guideline CG65: Inadvertent Perioperative Hypothermia: The Management of Inadvertent Perioperative Hypothermia in Adults.
3. Study on Hypothermia and Surgical Site Infections: Sessler, D. I. (2001). “Complications and prevention of mild perioperative hypothermia.” Anesthesiology, 95(2), 531–543.
4. The Effects of Hypothermia on Blood Loss and Coagulation: Hooper, V. D., Chard, R., Clifford, T., Fetzer, S., Fossum, S., Godden, B., & Wilson, L. (2010). “ASPAN’s evidence-based clinical practice guideline for the promotion of perioperative normothermia.” Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 25(6), 346–365
5. Benefits of Warm IV Fluids: Wagner, D. J., Johnston, T. D., & Jahnke, M. (2006). “Effectiveness of prewarmed IV fluids in reducing hypothermia in surgical patients.” Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, 18(4), 244–250.