Effects of Three Different Heating Devices on Patients Undergoing Surgery: A Network Meta-Analysis.

Purpose: Perioperative hypothermia is a common anesthesia-related complication that can result in negative outcomes. Intraoperative active heating can positively impact these outcomes. Therefore this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of three common heating devices for controlling hypothermia, improving thermal comfort, and reducing anesthesia recovery time.
Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Methods: Seven electronic literature databases were searched from the inception date of the databases to March 18, 2022. RevMan 5.4 and Stata 15.1 were used to perform meta-analyses on the obtained data, and the Cochrane Evaluation Manual was used for quality risk assessment of the included studies.
Findings: A total of 18 studies involving 1,511 patients undergoing surgery using heating devices were included. In this meta-analysis, a ranking method known as the Surface Under the Cumulative Ranking Curve (SUCRA) was used. SUCRA provides a numerical measure of the effectiveness of treatments, with higher values indicating superior efficacy. Findings demonstrated that the concurrent use of three heating devices led to an elevation in core body temperatures (SUCRA = 69.2%) and enhanced delayed recovery (SUCRA = 88.6%) as compared to the application of a single device. Furthermore, for thermal comfort, the employment of heating blankets proved to be the most effective (SUCRA = 87.8%).
Conclusions: This study showed the core body temperatures and reductions in delayed recovery were greater when three heating devices were used together as compared to use one of them alone. Heating blankets was the most effective option for improving the thermal comfort of patients. Thus, clinicians should opt for appropriate heating equipment according to the type of surgery and the characteristics and needs of patients. The choice of appropriate heating equipment will ensure surgical safety, improve patient comfort, and reduce surgical risks.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest We confirm that this manuscript has not been published elsewhere and is not under consideration by another journal. All authors have approved the manuscript and agreed with submission to the International Journal of Nursing Practice. The study has no financial support and the authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Prof. Xiao-ying Yan and Prof. Xiao-hong Huang will be responsible for the paper’s pre-publication.
(Copyright © 2024 The American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)