The results of this study suggest that preoperative warming can reduce rates of SSI after surgery .
OBJECTIVE To determine whether preoperative warming can reduce the risk of surgical site infection ( SSI ) after surgery .
BACKGROUND Intraoperative hypothermia is a risk factor for the occurrence of  SSI in patients after surgery .
However , the effectiveness of preoperative warming in reducing the incidence of the condition remains unclear .
A randomized trial of prewarming on patient satisfaction and thermal comfort in outpatient surgery.
STUDY OBJECTIVE To test the primary hypothesis that forced-air prewarming improves patient satisfaction after outpatient surgery and to evaluate the effect on core temperature and thermal comfort . DESIGN Prospect i ve r and omized controlled trial . SETTING Preoperative area , operating room , and postanesthesia care unit . PATIENTS A total of 115 patients aged 18 to 75 years with American Society of Anesthesiologists status < 4 and body mass index of 15 to 36kg/m(2 ) who were undergoing outpatient surgery ( duration < 4 hours ) . INTERVENTIONS Patients were r and omized to active prewarming with a Mistral-Air warming system initially set to 43 ° C or no active prewarming . All patients were warmed intraoperatively . MEASUREMENTS Demographic and morphometric characteristics , perioperative core temperature , ambient temperature , EVAN-G satisfaction score , thermal comfort via visual analog scales . MAIN RESULTS Data from 102 patients were included in the final analysis . Prewarming did not significantly reduce redistribution hypothermia , with prewarmed minus not prewarmed core temperature differing by only 0.18 ° C ( 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] , -0.001 to 0.37 ) during the initial hour of anesthesia ( P=.052 ) . Prewarming increased the mean EVAN-G satisfaction score , although not significantly , with an overall difference ( prewarmed minus not prewarmed ) of 5.6 ( 95 % CI , -0.9 to 12.2 ; P=.09 ) . Prewarming increased thermal comfort , with an overall difference of 6.6 mm ( 95 % CI , 1.0 - 12.9 ; P=.02 ) . CONCLUSION Active prewarming increased thermal comfort but did not significantly reduce redistribution hypothermia or improve postoperative patient satisfaction
The results of this study suggest that preoperative warming can reduce rates of SSI after surgery .
OBJECTIVE To determine whether preoperative warming can reduce the risk of surgical site infection ( SSI ) after surgery .
BACKGROUND Intraoperative hypothermia is a risk factor for the occurrence of  SSI in patients after surgery .
However , the effectiveness of preoperative warming in reducing the incidence of the condition remains unclear .