PURPOSE: To prevent perioperative hypothermia, forced air warming blanket was compared with a passive insulation suit.DESIGN: Prospective, open, randomized controlled trial.METHODS: Thirty patients were scheduled for orthopedic spinal surgery. The intervention group (group TS) received the thermal suit T-Balance before premedication and throughout the perioperative period, whereas the control group (group C) received forced air warming (FAW) during surgery.FINDINGS: No statistically significant difference (ns) was found between the groups for core temperature 30 minutes after induction of general anesthesia. Perioperative hypothermia occurred in 10 (66.7%) patients in group TS and 6 (40%) in group C (ns). For hypothermic patients, re-establishment of normothermia took significantly longer in group TS, mean 108 ± 111 minutes, than in group C, 33 ± 59.5 minutes (P = .03).CONCLUSIONS: The thermal suit did not prevent hypothermia in this study. FAW was significantly more efficient in re-establishing normothermia.
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