Next time you go under the knife, you might want to bring along a wool blanket, wear some flannel pajamas or ask your surgeon to turn up the thermostat.
A new study shows that cool temperatures in operating rooms can give many patients mild hypothermia. In turn, this increases the risk of infection and slows the healing of surgical wounds. That's because the cold causes blood vessels to constrict and lowers the supply of oxygen, which fights infection.The study, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, assigned 200 patients undergoing colorectal surgery to one of two groups: Patients in the first group underwent surgery in chilly operating rooms; patients in the other group were kept warm.
Of the chilly patients, 19 percent developed wound infections compared with 6 percent in the warm group. The warm group also healed better and faster. Their stitches were removed an average of one day sooner and they left the hospital 2.6 days earlier.
So, with results like these, why are operating rooms kept so chilly? The Journal article said it is for the comfort of surgeons who work under hot lights.
But now, many operating rooms are using inexpensive forced-air warming blankets on patients' upper bodies and heating intravenous fluids. At $30, these methods are a cheap way to improve healing, reduce the risk of infection and save money by cutting hospital stays.
Lung-reduction treatment
A large study to look at the effectiveness of lung reduction in the treatment of late-stage emphysema is going ahead after preliminary findings at 27 hospitals indicate the surgery may be promising.
The procedure removes damaged, nonfunctioning lung tissue. Many of the 3,000 patients who have already had the surgery have reported greater ease breathing. They said they could draw in a deeper breath and hold it longer. But now the NIH wants to document results scientifically.
Eligible participants will be covered by Medicare, according to sponsors at the National Institutes of Health and the Health Care Financing Administration.
To find out more about the study and procedures for participating, call the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Information Center at (301) 251-1222.
- Maturity News Service