Is Normothermia Maintained in the Operating Room?

Abstract

Background: Inadvertent hypothermia is one of the most common problems in the perioperative period. Providing and maintaining normothermia is very important in preventing inadvertent perioperative hypothermia as well as complications. Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the knowledge and practices of operating room nurses to prevent hypothermia. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in the operating rooms of 4 hospitals in Istanbul between July 2016 and September 2017. The sample consisted of a total of 95 participants who met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected by using a data collection form. Data collection forms were filled with face-to-face interview techniques. Results: According to this study, 84.2% of the participants did not receive any training to prevent hypothermia, 85.3% stated that it was very important to protect the patients from hypothermia, and 88.4% stated that there was no protocol on hypothermia in the hospital. Conlusions: The majority of the operating room nurses who participated in this study about determining the practices in maintaining normothermia in the operating room environment stated that they did not receive any training to prevent hypothermia, and the prevention of hypothermia was important. There was no common protocol used.

Keywords

• hypothermia
• operating room
• perioperative period
• nursing