The Efficacy of a Resistive Heating Under-Patient Blanket Versus a Forced-Air Warming System: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND:We compared temperature changes in patients undergoing hip replacement during warming with a resistive heating blanket or air-forced system. METHODS: Fifty-six patients were enrolled. Patients were randomly allocated to the forced-air group (forced-air system) or to the heating-blanket group (resistive heating Under-patient blanket). RESULTS: Baseline tympanic temperatures were 36.0 +/- 0.6 degrees C in the forced-air group and 36.1 +/- 0.4 degrees C in the heating-blanket group (P > 0.05). At the end of surgery tympanic temperatures were 35.3 +/- 0.5 degrees C in the forced-air group and 35.1 +/- 0.6 degrees C the heating-pad group (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that, using either a resistive heating-blanket or forced-air warming systems, patients ended Surgery in mild hypothermia after elective total hip replacement, but without significant differences between these two warming devices.