Hypothermia in the intraoperative period: can it be avoided?

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify what measures are taken to prevent hypothermia in the intraoperative period. This is a non-experimental, descriptive-exploratory prospective study. To do this, a data collection instrument was developed, which was submitted to appearance and content validations. The sample consisted of 70 patients. The measure that was most commonly used in the operation room was the passive skin heating, such as using cotton sheets (11.4%) and bandaging the patient's lower limbs (14.3%). There was only one occurrence of active skin heating (1.4%). Results show there is a need to implement effective interventions to prevent hypothermia, and nurses play an important role in this context, as patient safety and avoiding complications due to the surgical anesthetic procedure are nursing care goals.