AORN journal
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Maintaining normothermia is important for patient safety, positive surgical outcomes, and increased patient satisfaction. Causes of unplanned hypothermia in the OR include cold room temperatures, the effects of anesthesia, cold IV and irrigation fluids, skin and wound exposure, and patient risk factors. Nurses at Riddle Memorial Hospital in Media, Pennsylvania, performed a quality improvement project to evaluate the effectiveness of using warm blankets, warm irrigation fluids, or forced-air warming on perioperative patients to maintain their core temperature during the perioperative experience. Results of the project showed that 75% of patients who received forced-air warming perioperatively had temperatures that reached or were maintained at 36° C (96.8° F) or higher within 15 minutes after leaving the OR.
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The need for properly trained sterile processing staff members has grown with the increased sophistication of surgical procedures. In 1998, I conducted a survey of hospitals about various aspects of training sterile processing personnel, including the length of time for training employees to process general surgical and specialty surgical instruments. ⋯ A calculation of the cost to train a sterile processing technician to the competent level, including the salary of the preceptor, was $41,414 for 2008, an increase of more than 100% from the 1998 calculation. These costs must be weighed against the loss of revenue when procedures are delayed because of missing, damaged, or unclean instruments and the patient safety issues that could result if an employee is not well trained.