Abstract
Unplanned perioperative hypothermia is a common surgical risk. Unplanned hypothermia is defined as a body temperature below 36° C (96.8° F) during any phase of the perioperative period. Perioperative nurses at a Midwestern tertiary pediatric hospital developed an evidence-based clinical practice guideline (CPG) designed to maintain normothermia for the pediatric surgical population. This CPG outlined standard thermoregulation nursing interventions and required the consistent use of a temporal artery thermometer. A test of this CPG before full implementation established a baseline incidence of unplanned hypothermia at 16.3% (n = 80). The purpose of this study was to measure the rate of perioperative hypothermia in children after implementing the evidence-based CPG. The study results demonstrated that the CPG, guiding research-based nursing practice, consistently prevented unplanned hypothermia. The incidence rate of unplanned perioperative hypothermia after CPG implementation was 1.84% (n = 1,196).
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 170-183 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | AORN journal |
Volume | 105 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 1 2017 |
Keywords
- clinical practice guideline
- pediatric
- perianesthesia nursing
- thermoregulation
- unplanned hypothermia
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medical–Surgical