Prewarming during General Anesthesia

Preventing Hypothermia in the Perioperative Setting
A drop in core body temperature is a common and predictable consequence of both general and regional anaesthesia. This occurs due to the redistribution of heat from the body’s core to the periphery shortly after induction, resulting in a rapid decline in core temperature.

Because core temperature is a critical vital sign—and many physiological processes rely on its stability—preventing hypothermia is essential for improving patient outcomes and avoiding unintended complications. Beyond clinical risks, it's also highly uncomfortable for patients to wake up feeling cold and shivering, which can lead to increased pain perception and even elevate the risk of surgical site infections.
At TSC Life, our goal is to ensure that every patient is protected from hypothermia, using the right strategy and the tools in our portfolio.

What is the right strategy?
It begins with measuring temperature before induction. Continuous and consistent temperature monitoring throughout the entire perioperative pathway is crucial to determine and apply the appropriate warming techniques.
As surgical procedures become shorter, rewarming is no longer an option—there simply isn’t enough time. That’s why prewarming has become the new standard. Using forced air warming during the pre-induction preparation phase is a simple yet effective solution. In fact, just 10 minutes of prewarming has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of intraoperative hypothermia.

This video highlights just how easy it is to incorporate prewarming into daily clinical routines.

If you would like to learn more about how to implement these strategies effectively, please contact us at [email protected]