Forced Air and Intravenous Fluid Warmers in Gynecologic Laparoscopic Surgery

Perioperative hypothermia is a common problem. It has been defined as a core temperature below 36ºC. The reasons why patient undergoing gynecologic laparoscopic surgery has perioperative hypothermia because the reduced metabolic heat production, redistribution of heat from the core to the periphery and impaired thermoregulation (due to anesthetics), use of cool carbon dioxide gas insufflations and surgical irrigation solution, as well as heat loss due to the cool environment. This perioperative problem has been linked to adverse patient outcomes such as myocardial ischemia as hypothermia increases plasma catecholamine, surgical site infection as hypothermia diminishes wound tissue O2 tension and coagulopathy as hypothermia impairs platelet function. It claims that perioperative heat loss occurs by radiation (60%), convection (25%) and evaporation (10%). This is caused by the difference between peripheral body and ambient temperature, air circulation around the body and vasodilatation. In daily practice, most anesthesia personnel warm patient peri-operatively by using force air warmer and intravenous fluid warmer. This study aimed to compare the difference of core and room temperature in patients undergoing gynecologic laparoscopic surgery by using forced air and intravenous fluid warmer