Conductive warming and insulation reduces perioperative hypothermia

Background: Perioperative hypothermia is rather common after head and neck surgery. Methods: In this prospective, randomised controlled study with 40 patients, we tested the hypothesis that the use of a new conductive warming system (PerfecTemp (TM), The Laryngeal Mask Company Limited, St. Helier, Jersey) in combination with insulation of 1.29 clo (treatment group) is better in reducing the incidence of hypothermia during and after head and neck surgery than insulation only (control group). Results: Repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc Scheff,'s test identified a significantly higher core temperature in the treatment group at 45, 60, 75, 90, 105 and 120 min (p < 0.05). Furthermore, Fisher's exact test confirmed a lower incidence of intraoperative (3 vs. 9 patients; p = 0.03) and postoperative hypothermia (0 vs. 6 patients; p = 0.008). Conclusion: In conclusion, the combination of good thermal insulation and conductive warming is effective in preventing perioperative hypothermia during head and neck surgery. Level of Evidence: 1b