The British journal of theatre nursing : NATNews : the official journal of the National Association of Theatre Nurses
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Many investigators have looked at the loss of body heat by the patient during the perioperative period. However the problem still remains of identifying those at risk using a scientific approach. This small study has looked at nine factors identified from a literature search, tested each against a group of 27 patients and then created and tested a check list and rating scale of risk for use by theatre nurses at preoperative assessment during a ward visit. ⋯ Moreover, the patient's preoperative haemoglobin level also appears to influence the degree of heat loss [P = < 0.05]. The study also looked at the level of success achieved by the theatre nurses in identifying the levels of each factor and this showed that the nurses could identify each level with a 77% success rate overall. After constructing a scale it was tested against the data and this showed that the Rating Scale could identify those at risk [P = < 0.005].(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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1846 was a good year for patients. While there is debate on exactly who gave the first anaesthetic, there is no doubt that ether was the initial agent used and that the era of painless surgery was born in 1846.