A Nonrandomized Comparative Study of the Warming Effects of Conductive-Polymer Heating Devices in Patients Undergoing Cesarean Delivery With Spinal Anesthesia.

Maintaining normothermia during surgery is crucial to prevent perioperative hypothermia. This nonrandomized study of 70 patients undergoing cesarean delivery with spinal anesthesia compared the effectiveness of conductive-polymer heating devices (CPHDs) in maintaining temperatures and enhancing thermal comfort. Core and peripheral temperatures were recorded, and thermal comfort was assessed. Patients who were warmed with a CPHD blanket and those warmed with a CPHD blanket and a CPHD mattress reported significantly higher thermal comfort and had higher core temperatures (P < .01) than those warmed only by a CPHD mattress. Further, higher peripheral temperatures were achieved in patients warmed with a CPHD blanket or with both a CPHD mattress and a CPHD blanket when compared to those warmed by a CPHD mattress alone (P = .03). Blankets and combination warming methods are more effective than mattresses in maintaining temperatures and enhancing thermal comfort in patients undergoing cesarean delivery with spinal anesthesia.