Förekomsten av hypotermi vid rutinbarnanestesi

Sammanfattning: Background:  Children going through surgery are likely to develop hypothermia caused by anesthesia, which can have severer consequences both peri and postoperatively. With increased understanding and knowledge regarding the correct methods for prevention, hypothermia caused by anesthesia in children can be reduced. This in turn, will lead to better and safer care. Aim: To describe the presence of hypothermia in children undergoing anesthesia. Also, this study will look at how the nurse anesthetists’ different interventions to preserve heat affect the occurrence of hypothermia. Methods: A descriptive retrospective study was performed. Medical records were reviewed to collect data. Results: The result showed that despite interventions to preserve heat were implemented, hypothermia caused by anesthesia still occurred during surgery. Gender, age and type of operation were factors that did not correlate with the presence of hypothermia. The length of surgery was shown to have some negative correlation with presence of hypothermia. Nursing interventions to preserve heat had no significant association with hypothermia. Conclusions: Nurse anesthetist used different combinations of interventions to preserve heat and reduce the risk for hypothermia in children. The majority of children obtained three or more different interventions aimed to preserve heat. Despite this, several children developed hypothermia during surgery. By increasing the nurse anesthetists’ knowledge and awareness regarding hypothermia caused by anesthesia, it can lead to improvement in providing safe care and reduce the number of cases where hypothermia occurs. Continued similar studies could lead to more person-centered care with personalized policies and amend the methods used regarding hypothermia caused by anesthesia.