Core temperatures during major abdominal surgery in patients warmed with new circulating-water garment, forced-air warming, or carbon-fiber resistive-heating system.

Purpose: It has been reported that recently developed circulating-water garments transfer more heat than a forced-air warming system. The authors evaluated the hypothesis that circulating-water leg wraps combined with a water mattress better maintain intraoperative core temperature ≥36°C than either forced-air warming or carbon-fiber resistive heating during major abdominal surgery.

Methods: Thirty-six patients undergoing open abdominal surgery were randomly assigned to warming with: (1) circulating-water leg wraps combined with a full-length circulating-water mattress set at 42°C, (2) a lower-body forced-air cover set on high (≈43°C), and (3) a carbon-fiber resistive-heating cover set at 42°C.

[Reliability of propofol target-controlled infusion in obese patients].

Background: Propofol target-controlled infusion (TCI) is now commonly used for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. In this study, we measured the propofol plasma concentrations in obese patients in order to test our hypothesis that propofol TCI is reliable for use in obese patients.

Methods: We measured plasma concentrations of propofol in 10 obese patients undergoing elective general anesthesia.

Fever during anaesthesia.

Fever occurs when pyrogenic stimulation activates thermal control centres. Fever is common during the perioperative period, but rare during anaesthesia. Although only a limited number of studies are available to explain how anaesthesia affects fever, general anaesthesia seems to inhibit fever by decreasing the thermoregulatory-response thresholds to cold.

[The efficacy of carbon-fiber resistive-heating in prevention of core hypothermia during major abdominal surgery].

Background: Perioperative hypothermia causes numerous severe complications, such as coagulopathy, surgical wound infections, and morbid myocardial outcomes. For prevention of intraoperative hypothermia, an inexpensive, non-disposable carbon fiber resistive warming system has been developed.

Methods: We evaluated the efficacy of resistive-heating, comparing to circulating-water mattress and forced-air warming system.

Resistive-heating and forced-air warming are comparably effective.

Unlabelled: Serious adverse outcomes from perioperative hypothermia are well documented. Consequently, intraoperative warming has become routine. We thus evaluated the efficacy of a novel, nondisposable carbon-fiber resistive-heating system.