In the fixed effect model , the warming group had significantly less pain and lower incidence of wound infection , compared with the no-warming group .
In the r and om effect model , the warming group was also associated with lower risk of post-anesthetic shivering .
Both in the r and om and the fixed effect models , the warming group was associated with significantly less blood loss .
Perioperative warming of surgical patients is effective in reducing postoperative wound pain , wound infection and shivering .
Systemic warming of the surgical patient is also associated with less perioperative blood loss through preventing hypothermia-induced coagulopathy .
OBJECTIVE The objective of this review was to systematic ally analyze the trials on the effectiveness of perioperative warming in surgical patients .
What are the Most Important Risk Factors for a Patient’s Developing Intraoperative Hypothermia?
Anesthesiologists attempt to maintain perioperative normothermia for surgical patients . We surveyed clinical anesthesiologists and physician research ers and asked them to prioritize risk factors for a patient to develop  intraoperative hypothermia .  The question naire included 41 factors associated with changes in patient temperature identified during a computerized literature search . We asked respondents to estimate the relative importance of each risk factor on a 10-point scale . The survey was mailed to two groups : 1 ) 180 anesthesiologists ( n = 84 respondents ) r and omly selected from the 1999 American Society of Anesthesiologists Members Directory and to 2 ) 24 physician research ers ( n = 12 respondents ) in thermoregulation . Research ers rated the following to be the most important risk factors for hypothermia ( in sequence ) : neonates , a low ambient operating room temperature , burn injuries , general anesthesia with neuraxial anesthesia , geriatric patients , low temperature of the patient before induction , a thin body type , and large blood loss . The results for the clinician group were similar , because the median differences between the groups ’ results were two or fewer units for all items . The risk factors identified to be most important can now be further evaluated in clinical trials to develop a multivariate predictive tool for calculating a patient ’s a priori risk for developing hypothermia
In the fixed effect model , the warming group had significantly less pain and lower incidence of wound infection , compared with the no-warming group .
In the r and om effect model , the warming group was also associated with lower risk of post-anesthetic shivering .
Both in the r and om and the fixed effect models , the warming group was associated with significantly less blood loss .
Perioperative warming of surgical patients is effective in reducing postoperative wound pain , wound infection and shivering .
Systemic warming of the surgical patient is also associated with less perioperative blood loss through preventing hypothermia-induced coagulopathy .
OBJECTIVE The objective of this review was to systematic ally analyze the trials on the effectiveness of perioperative warming in surgical patients .