Abstract
The potential problems caused by hypothermia in the perioperative environment are numerous. One of the primary complications resulting from hypothermia in the perioperative area is delayed anesthetic emergence. Delayed anesthetic emergence can cause a subsequent increase in the time a patient spends in the recovery room. As a result, recovery room overload can lead to surgical delays. While studies have explored delayed anesthesia emergence related to hypothermia, limited information exists regarding delayed anesthesia emergence from hypothermia during colonoscopies. Forced-air warming is one of many methods employed to decrease hypothermia perioperatively. Most often, forced-air warming is done intraoperatively. Colonoscopies by nature leave patients exposed to numerous routes of heat loss. The need for patient exposure and access limit the opportunities for intraoperative warming. A quality improvement project was implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of preoperative forced-air warming on decreasing recovery room time. A decrease in recovery room time will decrease operative delays and enhance surgical scheduling. One hundred patients (n=100) undergoing elective colonoscopies were included in the quality improvement project. Fifty patients (n=50) received forced-air warming for a minimum of 10 minutes prior to undergoing a colonoscopy. Fifty patients (n=50) did not receive preoperative warming. All patients had their temperature monitored preoperatively, operatively, and in the recovery room. The patients who received preoperative warming before undergoing an elective colonoscopy spent an average of 8.93 minutes less in the recovery room. Moreover, the patients undergoing preoperative forced-air warming did not experience the 0.72F heat loss that the patients who did not receive preoperative warming experienced. Preoperative forced-air warming was an effective method in reducing perioperative hypothermia and recovery room time.