Warming the premature infant in the delivery room: Quantification of the risk of hyperthermia.

Aim: The efficacy and safety of three polyethylene bags commonly used to prevent hypothermia in premature infants was assessed.

Methods: To simulate transfer from the delivery room to a secondary care unit, a thermally stable, bonneted mannequin (skin temperature: 34.4 °C) was placed in a climate chamber under different conditions: with a radiant warmer, with various polyethylene bags (open on one side, closed by a draw-string at the neck, or a "life support pouch" with several access points) or without a bag.

Use of a Polyethylene Bag to Reduce Perioperative Regional and Whole-Body Heat Losses in Low-Birth-Weight Neonates.

In the delivery room, wrapping a low-birth-weight neonate (defined as ≤2.499 g) in a polyethylene bag reduces the risk of hypothermia. However, extended use of the bag (e.

Polyethylene bag wrapping to prevent hypothermia during percutaneous central venous catheter insertion in the preterm newborn under 32 weeks of gestation.

Aim: In preterm neonates, during nursing procedures, body temperature decreases. This study evaluates the interest of polyethylene bag wrapping to prevent this decrease during percutaneous central venous catheter (PCVC) insertion procedure, in preterm neonates under 32 weeks of gestation nursed in closed incubators.

Methods: This prospective observational study compared two periods: [May 2009-September 2009]: "without polyethylene bag wrapping" and [October 2009-March 2010]: "with polyethylene bag wrapping".

Assessment of radiant temperature in a closed incubator.

In closed incubators, radiative heat loss (R) which is assessed from the mean radiant temperature (Tr) accounts for 40-60% of the neonate's total heat loss. In the absence of a benchmark method to calculate Tr--often considered to be the same as the air incubator temperature-errors could have a considerable impact on the thermal management of neonates. We compared Tr using two conventional methods (measurement with a black-globe thermometer and a radiative "view factor" approach) and two methods based on nude thermal manikins (a simple, schematic design from Wheldon and a multisegment, anthropometric device developed in our laboratory).

Effect of posture on the thermal efficiency of a plastic bag wrapping in neonate: assessment using a thermal "sweating" mannequin.

To assess the various heat exchanges with the environment a multisegment, anthropometric, thermal mannequin representing a neonate with a birth weight of 900 g has been designed. The mannequin simulates not only dry heat loss (radiative+conductive+convective body heat exchanges) but also the evaporative skin water loss which can be encountered in low-birth-weight neonates. The model was placed in the supine or prone position in a closed incubator (air temperature, 33 C; relative air humidity, 50%; air velocity below 0.