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Effect of forced-air heaters on perfusion and temperature distribution during and after open-heart surgery

^a Department of Energy Technology, Technical University Eindhoven, The Netherlands
^b Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
^c Nutrition and Toxicology Institute Maastricht (NUTRIM), Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
^d Department of Anaesthesiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Received 16 May 2007; received in revised form 16 August 2007; accepted 3 September 2007.

^_* Corresponding author. Address: Technical University Eindhoven, PO Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 40 2474443; fax: +31 40 2475399. (Email: n.m.w.severens{at}tue.nl).

Objectives: After cardiopulmonary bypass, patients often show redistribution hypothermia, also called afterdrop. Forced-air blankets help to reduce afterdrop. This study explores the effect of forced-air blankets on temperature distribution and peripheral perfusion. The blood perfusion data is used to explain the observed temperature effects and the reduction of the afterdrop. Methods: Fifteen patients were enrolled in a randomised study. In the test group (n = 8), forced-air warmers were used. In the control group (n = 7), only passive insulation was used. Core and skin temperatures and thigh temperatures at 0, 8, 18 and 38 mm depth were measured. Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) was used to record skin perfusion from the big toe. Blood flow through the femoral artery was determined with ultrasound. Results: Afterdrop in the test group was smaller than in the control group (1.2 ± 0.2 °C vs 1.8 ± 0.7 °C: P = 0.04) whilst no significant difference in mean tissue thigh temperature was found between the groups. Local skin temperature was 2.5–3.0 °C higher when using forced-air heaters. However, skin perfusion was unaffected. Ultrasound measurements revealed that leg blood flow during the first hours after surgery was reduced to 70% of pre- and peri-operative values. Conclusions: Forced-air blankets reduce afterdrop. However, they do not lead to clinical relevant changes in deep thigh temperature. LDF measurements show that forced-air heating does not improve toe perfusion. The extra heat especially favours core temperature. This is underlined by the decrease in postoperative leg blood flow, suggesting that the majority of the warmed blood leaving the heart flows to core organs and not to the periphery.

Key Words: Cardiopulmonary bypass • Forced-air warmer • Afterdrop • Perfusion • Temperature • Hypothermia