From the Guidelines
To increase a patient's temperature, the most effective method is to apply a combination of external warming devices, such as warm blankets or forced-air warming systems, and internal warming methods, like warmed intravenous fluids or humidified oxygen, as recommended by the most recent guidelines 1.
Methods for Increasing Body Temperature
The following methods can be employed to increase a patient's body temperature:
- External warming devices: warm blankets, forced-air warming systems (like Bair Hugger), or heating pads set to safe temperatures (typically 40-42°C) 1
- Internal warming methods: warmed intravenous fluids to 37-40°C before administration, especially during large volume resuscitation 1
- Environmental modifications: increase room temperature to 24-26°C, reduce exposure to cold surfaces, and minimize the patient's uncovered body surface area 1
- Active rewarming techniques: warm water immersion (40-42°C) may be appropriate for moderate hypothermia cases 1
- Nutritional support: warm beverages and foods can provide internal warming 1
- Extracorporeal warming methods: hemodialysis or cardiopulmonary bypass may be used for severe cases in hospital settings 1
Considerations for Choosing a Method
The method chosen should be based on the severity of hypothermia, available resources, and the patient's clinical condition 1. It is essential to prioritize the patient's safety and comfort when selecting a warming method.
Recent Guidelines and Recommendations
Recent guidelines from the American Heart Association and European guidelines recommend early application of measures to reduce heat loss and warm the hypothermic patient to achieve and maintain normothermia 1. These guidelines emphasize the importance of prompt and effective warming methods to improve patient outcomes.
From the FDA Drug Label
The FDA drug label does not answer the question.
From the Research
Methods to Increase Body Temperature
The following methods can be used to increase a patient's body temperature:
- Noninvasive, passive external warming techniques, such as removal of cold, wet clothing and movement to a warm environment 2
- Active external rewarming, including insulation with warm blankets 2
- Active core rewarming, such as warmed intravenous fluid infusions, heated humidified oxygen, body cavity lavage, and extracorporeal blood warming 2
- Endogenous heat producing mechanisms and isolation of the victim, which can achieve fairly efficient rewarming for mild hypothermia cases 3
- Active rewarming methods, such as forced air methods, which are suitable for pre-hospital treatment and have high rewarming efficacy for moderate or severe hypothermia cases 3
- Hot pack rewarming, which has been shown to be effective in increasing body temperature during transport 4
- Thoracic lavage, which can be used to rewarm a patient with accidental hypothermia and cardiac arrest 5
- Advanced methods of rewarming, such as passive and active: external and core used in clinic, which allow for efficient management and prophylactics of hypothermia 6
- Thermotherapy with use of infrared ceiling heaters and mobile heaters, which are desirable and even indispensable in contemporary equipment of surgery clinics, cardiovascular surgery clinics and burn centers 6
- Forced-air warmers, such as Warm Touch 5700 and Bair Hugger 500, which are more effective than use of standard, passive insulation hospital blankets or convectional heaters 6
- Radiative heaters, such as IR-A:Hydrosun 500, IR-C radiation: CTC X, MTC, which are useful in burn management and can be effective when the distance of heater from the patient body is less than 80 cm 6