The Effect of Using a Normothermia Checklist on Awakening Time From Anesthesia and Coagulation Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background Inadvertent perioperative hypothermia (IPH) is a common issue in surgical patients. To avoid this issue, the patient should be monitored continuously throughout the perioperative process. Evidence-based practices in line with relevant guidelines are necessary to maintain normothermia.

Purpose This study was developed to determine the effect of using a control list developed for preventing IPH on time of awakening from anesthesia and coagulation disorder in surgical patients.

Methods In this randomized controlled study, nursing interventions were applied to patients in accordance with the normothermia checklist (NC) developed by the researchers to prevent IPH.

Results In this study, 30 patients were respectively assigned to the experimental and control groups. Conducting nursing interventions in accordance with the control checklist was found to be effective in preventing IPH. Moreover, time of awakening from anesthesia was significantly shorter in the experimental group (3.77 ± 1.10 minutes) than the control group (11.03 ± 2.51 minutes; p < .05). Furthermore, tendency to bleed was higher in the control group than the experimental group, and a statistically significant between-group difference in coagulation disorders was found (p < .05).

Conclusions/Implications for Practice The results of this evidence-based study indicate that implementing nursing interventions in line with the developed NC is effective in preventing IPH. Preventing IPH, which increases the risk of numerous complications in surgical patients, is an important responsibility of nurses. Nurses may employ the NC proposed in this study to better secure the safety and minimize the risk of complications in surgical patients.