Effects of Warming Program on Core Temperature and Shivering in Patients Undergoing Gynecological Surgery Under Spinal Anesthesia at Udon Thani Hospital

Abstract

This quasi-experimental research was conducted to study the effect of using a warming program on the core temperature and shivering. The study was conducted from January to February 2024. The participants whose patients undergoing gynecological surgery, under spinal anesthesia in department of Nurse anesthetist at Udon Thani hospital were divided into 2 groups with 29 people per group. were divided into 2 groups with 29 people per group. The experimental group received a forced-air warming blanket combined with intravenous fluids (IVF) tube warming from the preoperative period through the postoperative period. The control group received warming before surgery with a hospital towel blankets and a forced-air warming blanket and received room-temperature IVFs from the operative through the post-operative periods. The research tools were the modified Sathorn Muensakul's warming program, demographic form, and operative data recording forms. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the demographic and operative data. The differences in core temperature and shivering between the experimental and control groups were analyzed using Mann Whitney U tests and Independent t-tests.

The results showed that the members of the control and experimental groups were female and had an average age of 44.90 and 44.76 years, an average body mass index of 22.21 and 22.83, an average operation time of 72.28 and 72.31 minutes, an average amount of intravenous fluid given of 898.10 and 899.97, an average
estimated blood loss of 121.48 and 122.00 milliliters, respectively. During the surgical and post-operative periods, the median core temperature of the experimental group (36.70^o C., 36.50^o C., respectively ) was not statistically significantly higher than the control group. However, the experimental group had a statistically significantly lower average shivering score than the control group at p<.05.  The findings of the study indicated that the warming program was effective in preventing shivering in patients undergoing spinal anesthesia. Therefore, it should be applied to patients undergoing other surgeries in the future.