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GENERAL ARTICLES

The Failure of Negative Pressure Rewarming (Thermostat^TM) to Accelerate Recovery from Mild Hypothermia in Postoperative Surgical Patients

Department of Anesthesiology, MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio

Address correspondence to Dr. Charles E. Smith, Department of Anesthesiology, MetroHealth Medical Center, 2500 MetroHealth Dr., Cleveland, OH, 44109. Address e-mail to ces4{at}po.cwru.edu

The Thermostat^TM device (Aquarius Medical Corp., Phoenix, AZ) is used in a new technique to accelerate recovery from hypothermia by mechanically distending blood vessels in the hand, thereby increasing transfer of exogenous heat to the body core. We evaluated the use of the Thermostat^TM device in patients with mild postoperative hypothermia (<36°C). We studied adult patients undergoing elective surgery, general anesthesia, and neuromuscular blockade. Patients with an initial postoperative tympanic membrane temperature < 36°C were randomized into two groups: 1) Thermostat^TM, which consisted of a hypothermia warming mitt/seal and thermal exchange chamber for 60 min, and 2) conventional treatment, which consisted of warm blankets and/or radiant heat. Of the 191 patients enrolled, 60 (31%) developed hypothermia and were randomized to receive the Thermostat^TM (n = 30) or conventional methods (n = 30). Fourteen patients in the Thermostat^TM group and 17 patients in the conventional group rewarmed to 36°C before discharge from the recovery room (P is not significant). There were no differences in vital signs, rewarming time, time to discharge from the recovery room, or postoperative temperature between groups. We conclude that patients with mild postoperative hypothermia rewarmed in a similar fashion, regardless of whether the Thermostat^TM or conventional methods were used.

Implications: We found that a commercially available negative pressure rewarming device (Thermostat^TM; Aquarius Medical Corp., Phoenix, AZ) was not effective in accelerating rewarming in postoperative hypothermic surgical patients after general anesthesia.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. B. Rein, M. Filtvedt, L. Walloe, and J. C. Raeder Hypothermia during laparotomy can be prevented by locally applied warm water and pulsating negative pressure Br. J. Anaesth., March 1, 2007; 98(3): 331 - 336. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Taguchi, C. F. Arkilic, A. Ahluwalia, D. I. Sessler, and A. Kurz Negative Pressure Rewarming vs. Forced Air Warming in Hypothermic Postanesthetic Volunteers Anesth. Analg., January 1, 2001; 92(1): 261 - 266. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999