Other Titles
Rising Star Poster/Presentation
Abstract
Background: Hypothermia is a common perioperative complication and affects up to 70% of surgical patients undergoing general anesthesia. Hypothermia is preventable yet remains unaddressed in surgical settings throughout the United States. Complications include prolonged coagulation, increased surgical site infections, and delayed recovery, leading to additional costs between $2,500 and $7,000 per patient.
Purpose: This evidence-based quality improvement project aimed to implement a prewarming protocol using AORN thermal management guidelines and preoperatively prevent unintended hypothermia in adult surgical patients undergoing general anesthesia. Project goal was to increase organizational prewarming rates by 30% in the project’s timeline.
Implementation Plan: The implementation included an education, communication, leadership and champion engagement, and anticipated barriers management plans. A PDSA cycle was used for continual project assessment and improvement. The implementation was the application of warmed blankets around each adult patient’s torso for a minimum of 10 minutes in the preoperative phase. Patient temperatures recorded consisted of arrival temperature as a baseline and intervention temperature as the outcome.
Results: A documented total of 1,235 patients received the intervention. The SMART goal was exceeded, increasing from 22% to 69%. The mean patient temperature increase was statistically significant (p< 0.001, 0.57). Patient focus on arriving hypothermic or at risk (< 97°F), was significant with a large impact (p< 0.001, 1.7).
Conclusion: Prewarming successfully assisted in the prevention of unintended hypothermia in surgical patients. The data supported significant thermal improvements and especially the subgroup of patients arriving hypothermic or at risk for hypothermia. The intervention should be sustained and standardized across the organization.
Notes
References:
1. Ding, N., Yang, J., & Wu, C. (2024). Comparison of prewarming plus intraoperative warming with intraoperative warming alone in patients undergoing minimally invasive thoracic or abdominal surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE, 19(9), e0310096. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310096
2. Link, T. (2020). Guidelines in practice: Hypothermia prevention. AORN Journal, 111(6), 653–666. https://doi.org/10.1002/aorn.13038
3. Poveda, V., Oliveira, R., & Galvão, C. (2020). Perioperative body temperature maintenance and occurrence of surgical site infection: A systematic review with meta-analysis. American Journal of Infection Control, 48(10), 1248–1254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.01.002
4. Russell, K., Ostendorf, M., Welden, L., & Stallings, J. D. (2022). Using a normothermia bundle with perioperative prewarming to reduce patient hypothermia. Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 37(1), 114–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jopan.2021.07.008
5. Simegn, G., Bayable, S., & Fetene, M. (2021). Prevention and management of perioperative hypothermia in adult elective surgical patients: A systematic review. Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 72, 103059. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2021.103059
6. Uçak, A., Tat Çatal, A., Karadağ, E., & Cebeci, F. (2024). The effect of prewarming on perioperative hypothermia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 39(4), 611–623.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jopan.2023.11.003
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Quality Improvement
Research Approach
Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice
Keywords:
Hypothermia, General Anesthesia, Body Temperature Regulation, Preoperative Care, Surgery, Patients, Patient Safety
Recommended Citation
Anderson, S. Adam Robert and Hoying, Jacqueline, "The Prevention of Unintended Hypothermia in Surgical Patients" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 144.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/posters_2026/144
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Invited Presentation
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-10-02
The Prevention of Unintended Hypothermia in Surgical Patients
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Background: Hypothermia is a common perioperative complication and affects up to 70% of surgical patients undergoing general anesthesia. Hypothermia is preventable yet remains unaddressed in surgical settings throughout the United States. Complications include prolonged coagulation, increased surgical site infections, and delayed recovery, leading to additional costs between $2,500 and $7,000 per patient.
Purpose: This evidence-based quality improvement project aimed to implement a prewarming protocol using AORN thermal management guidelines and preoperatively prevent unintended hypothermia in adult surgical patients undergoing general anesthesia. Project goal was to increase organizational prewarming rates by 30% in the project’s timeline.
Implementation Plan: The implementation included an education, communication, leadership and champion engagement, and anticipated barriers management plans. A PDSA cycle was used for continual project assessment and improvement. The implementation was the application of warmed blankets around each adult patient’s torso for a minimum of 10 minutes in the preoperative phase. Patient temperatures recorded consisted of arrival temperature as a baseline and intervention temperature as the outcome.
Results: A documented total of 1,235 patients received the intervention. The SMART goal was exceeded, increasing from 22% to 69%. The mean patient temperature increase was statistically significant (p< 0.001, 0.57). Patient focus on arriving hypothermic or at risk (< 97°F), was significant with a large impact (p< 0.001, 1.7).
Conclusion: Prewarming successfully assisted in the prevention of unintended hypothermia in surgical patients. The data supported significant thermal improvements and especially the subgroup of patients arriving hypothermic or at risk for hypothermia. The intervention should be sustained and standardized across the organization.
Description
Hypothermia is a common perioperative complication in surgical settings. This EBPQI project aimed to implement a preoperative prewarming protocol to prevent unintended hypothermia in adult surgical patients. The project utilized passive warming techniques. The mean patient temperature increase was statistically significant. The project was successful. The prewarming protocol was effective this protocol should be sustained and standardized.