Preoperative Warming and Perioperative Shivering

Shivering is one of the most commonly recognized problem associated with anesthesia, It is believed to be thermoregulatory in origin. Studies suggest that pre-warming the patient prior to the surgery can reduce the chances of hypothermia induced shivering during the post operative period. Forced air warmers are the most frequently used active warming devices in the peri-operative setting. Currently, our hospital does not pre-warm patients but if our study shows that pre-warming reduces post-operative shivering, we will be able to make an evidence based decision to start this practice.