AORN journal
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Hypothermia is one of the most common complications experienced by surgical patients. Better postoperative patient outcomes are achieved when normothermia is maintained. Perioperative nurses should understand how to maintain normothermia, the causes of hypothermia, and adverse patient outcomes that result from hypothermia. Nursing interventions to help prevent hypothermia can be implemented during each phase of perioperative care.
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Good hemostasis in surgery can provide multiple advantages to the patient, surgical team, and health care facility. Active and passive hemostatic agents have been widely used for many years and have extensive history supporting effective and safe use in a wide variety of surgical procedures. ⋯ Active agents can be used alone or in combination with passive agents. Familiarity with the products used to achieve hemostasis and their preparation can facilitate optimal use by surgical teams.
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Surgical site infection (SSI) is a serious complication that can increase hospital costs and length of stay and may be life threatening. The preoperative chlorhexidine shower is widely recommended to decrease SSI risk, although standardized guidelines for this practice and supporting clinical evidence are lacking. Because vascular patients often have comorbidities that hinder preoperative showering, OR nurses at a specialty hospital in Dallas, Texas, developed and implemented an intraoperative surgical site precleansing technique as standard practice for patients undergoing procedures involving the axilla or groin.
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WHEN A PATIENT IS OBESE, simple dieting and exercise are rarely able to reverse significant comorbidities. Currently, surgery is the most effective treatment for obesity with respect to the amount and duration of weight loss. ⋯ THE PATIENT IS THE CENTER of the team's focus, and all facets of the perioperative process are interconnected. The words coordinate, educate, accommodate, facilitate, and communicate describe the multidisciplinary process that is necessary to provide quality, safe patient care with positive outcomes.