The Effect of Heating on Thermal Comfort and Anxiety
Condition: Anxiety; Nurse-Patient Relations
MeSH terms: Anxiety Disorders
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This study with a randomized, pretest - posttest controlled experimental design was conducted
      to determine the effects of active and passive heating methods applied in different parts of
      the perioperative process on thermal comfort, anxiety and vital signs. The study was
      conducted with the patients who were hospitalized for open abdominal surgical interventions
      in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, of Selcuk University Medical Faculty
      Hospital, between the dates of 1 October 2018 and 10 January 2019. The study included 99
      patients in two control groups and one experimental group. The patients in group A were
      dressed with hot air blowing patients scrubs in both preoperative and postoperative periods,
      while patients in group B were dressed with hot air blowing patients scrubs only in the
      postoperative period. The control group continued routine practice. In the preoperative
      period, vital signs, thermal comfort, and anxiety levels of the patients were evaluated. In
      the intraoperative period, vital signs and thermal comfort levels of the patients were
      evaluated. Thermal comfort level of the patients was re-evaluated prior to the induction of
      anesthesia. Once the patients were transferred to the post-anesthesia care unit, among the
      vital signs of the patients, body temperature was measured in the temporal region, and other
      signs were measured using the monitors. Thermal comfort and anxiety levels of the patients
      were re-evaluated after they got dressed.
    

Detailed description: 
      "Perioperative hypothermia," which is defined as a decrease below 36 °C in the body
      temperature 1 h prior to anesthesia and up to 24 h following anesthesia is a common problem
      in patients undergoing surgery. Perioperative hypothermia leads to many problems.

      Given the negative effects of increased anxiety and deterioration in thermal comfort due to
      perioperative hypothermia (such as decreased satisfaction and increased pain) hypothermia
      poses a problem that should be highlighted and prevented. It is also important for nurses to
      understand hypothermia and the complications associated with it and take effective measures.
      In the present randomized controlled trials, gowns blowing warm air; heated blankets,
      fabrics, and liquid; and self-heating blankets were used for increasing thermal comfort. No
      common heating technique or heating area was used in these studies In this context, the
      primary purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of active (gown blowing
      warm air) and passive (heated blanket) heating on thermal comfort and anxiety in preoperative
      and postoperative periods in patients scheduled for open abdominal surgery.
    

Intervention name(s): Bair Paws Blanket 81003 and FOC device 87500; routine hospital care
Intervention type(s): Device; Other
Intervention description(s): This study is a randomized, pretest - posttest controlled experimental design.; routine hospital care
Other intervention name(s): Thermal Comfort Scale; Anxiety Scale
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: nursing; active heating; thermal comfort; anxiety